***** 

0* 

PRINCETON,    N.    J. 

^->  /  /  o 

^/.  J//y 

Shelf. 

SERMONS 


TO 


THE    CHURCHES. 


BY 

FRANCIS    WATLAND 


NEW    YORK: 

SHELDON,  BLAKEMAN,   &   COMPANY, 

BOSTON:    GOULD    &    LINCOLN. 

LONDON  :    TRUBNER    <fc    CO. 
1859. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S58,  by 

FRANCIS      WAYLAND, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Rhode  Island. 


BTEBEOTYPED  BY  FBXNTKD  BY 

T.    B.    Smith   &   Son,  Ptjdney   a    Russell, 

82  &  84  Beekman-Bt.  79  John-street. 


TO    THE 


HON.  RICHARD  FLETCHER,  LL.D., 


THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED, 


THE  AUTHOR. 


PR  E  FACE. 

The  design  of  the  following  discourses  is,  to  urge  upon^ 
individual  Christians  the  duty  of  personal  effort  for  the 
conversion  of  men,  and  a  more  consistent  and  uncom- 
promising profession  of  religion.  Addressed  to  disciples 
of  every  name,  I  hope  I  have  not  erred  in  denominating 
them,  Sermons  to  the  Churches.  They  were  delivered  in 
different  places  and  on  various  occasions  ;  and,  all  having 
in  view  the  same  object,  refer  so  frequently  to  the  same 
topics,  that  I  fear  they  may  be  liable  to  the  charge  of 
repetition.  This  fact  was  more  distinctly  perceived  on 
reading  the  proof-sheets,  when  change  had  become  im- 
possible. I  shall  therefore  submit  without  complaint  to 
whatever  censure  my  negligence  deserves. 

I  had  just  commenced  the  preparation  of  the  volume 
for  the  press,  when  the  death  of  a  brother  in  the  minis- 
try, devolved  upon  me  unexpectedly  all  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  pastoral  office,  and  laid  claim  to  all  the 
labor  of  which  I  was  capable.     This  service   continued 


VI  PREFACE. 

much  longer  than  was  anticipated,  and  placed  it  out  of 
my  power  until  now,  to  fulfill  the  promise  made  to  the 
publishers  nearly  two  years  since.  For  this  delay  I  alone 
am  responsible. 

Imploring  the  blessing  of  God  upon  this  attempt  to 
promote  the  piety  and  increase  the  efficiency  of  his 
church,  I  commend  these  pages  to  the  candid  considera- 
tion of  the  disciples  of  Christ. 

Proyidence,  August  30,  1868. 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON   I. 

PAGE 

The  Apostolic  Ministry 9 

PREACHED  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ROCHESTER,  N.  T.,  AT  THE   REQUEST  OF 
THE  NEW  YORK  BAPTIST  UNION  FOR  MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION. 


SERMON    II. 

The  Church,  a  Society  for  the  Conversion  op  the  "World        .    65 

PREACHED  AT  THE  ORDINATION  OF  A  MINISTER. 

SERMON    III. 
Christian  "Worship 101 

PREACHED  AT  THE  OPENING  OF  A  HOUSE  OF  'WORSHIP. 


SERMON    IV. 
A  Consistent  Piety,  the  Demand  op  the  Age      ....  144 

PREACHED  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  COLLEGIATE  YEAR  IN  BROWN  UNIVERSITY. 


SERMON    V. 
Slavery  to  Public  Opinion 178 

PREACHED  ON  A  SIMILAR  OCCASION. 


VLU  CONTENTS. 

SERMON    VI. 

PAGE 

The  Perils  op  Riches -       .  206 

PEEACnED  IN  T1IE  MEETING   HOUSE  OF  TIIE  FIRST  BAPTIST  CHUBCH,  PBOVI- 
DENOE. 


SERMON   VII. 
Prevalent  Prater 243 

PEEACnED  IN  THE  MEETING   HOUSE  OF  THE  FIEST  BAPTIST  CHUBCH,  PBOVI- 
DENCE. 


SERMON    VIII. 

Responsibility  for  the  Moral  Condition  op  Others    .        .        .263 

PBEACHED  IN  THE  MEETING  HOUSE  OF  THE  FIEST  BAPTIST  CHUBCH,  PBOVI- 
DENCE. 


PEL 
BOLOQIC 


SERMON    I. 

THE    APOSTOLIC    MINISTRY. 

Go  ye  into  all  the  -world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. — 
Make:,  xvi.  15. 

These  words,  uttered  by  the  Son  of  God  a  few  mo- 
ments before  his  ascension,  contain  the  last  precept 
which  he  ever  delivered  to  his  disciples.  They  constitute 
the  commission  under  which  we  labor  to  extend  the 
reign  of  the  Messiah  ;  and  they  furnish  the  assurance  on 
which  we  rely,  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  God  and  of  his  Christ.  A 
proper  understanding  of  the  text  must  therefore  convey 
important  instruction  on  the  nature  and  duties  of  the 
Christian  ministry. 

The  precept  in  the  text  is,  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 

I.  What  is  this  Gospel  which  we  are  here  commanded 
to  preach  ?  The  Gospel  is  good  news.  What  good  news 
are  we  then  commissioned  to  proclaim  ? 

In  order  to  answer  this  question,  let  us  glance  at  the 
moral  condition  of  those  to  whom  the  gospel  is  sent. 

In  the  beginning,  God  created  man  in  his  own  image, 
with  a  moral  constitution  perfectly  adapted  to  a  holy  life, 


10  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

and  placed  before  him  every  motive  which  should  impel  a 
moral  agent  to  a  course  of  spotless  virtue.  The  law 
under  which  we  were  created  was  holy  and  just  and  good. 
The  probation  assigned  to  us  was,  however,  wholly  sub- 
jected to  the  principle  of  law.  Its  conditions  were  two  : 
first,  the  man  that  doeth  these  things  shall  live  by  them  ; 
and  secondly,  cursed  is  every  man  that  continueth  not  in 
all  things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them. 
Through  the  abounding  grace  of  God,  eternal  life  was 
promised  as  the  reward  of  obedience,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  disobedience  to  the  law,  or,  rebellion  against  the 
moral  government  of  the  universe,  was  punishable  with 
eternal  death,  banishment  from  the  presence  of  God, 
misery  everlasting.  Under  our  first  probation  no  pro- 
vision was  made  for  pardon,  and  therefore  no  hope  was 
offered  to  the  guilty.  Every  thing  was  to  be  gained  by 
perfect  obedience,  every  thing  was  to  be  lost  by  a  single 
transgression. 

Such  were  the  moral  conditions  under  which  we  were 
originally  created.  But  our  first  parents  sinned,  and  by 
one  man's  disobedience  the  many  were  made  sinners. 
"Without  inquiring  here  into  the  manner  in  which  his 
posterity  are  affected  by  the  fall  of  Adam,  it  is  sufficient 
to  state  the  fact,  that,  from  the  date  of  the  first  trans- 
gression there  has  not  been  a  just  man  on  earth  who  has 
not  sinned.  The  moral  blight  fell  upon  all  born  of  woman. 
The  whole  race  became  rebels  against  God.  They  did 
not  like  to  retain  Him  in  their  knowledge,  and  preferred 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  11 

to  live  in  open  defiance  of  his  authority.  The  thoughts 
of  their  heart  became  evil,  only  evil  continually.  Sin  be- 
came the  irrevocable  habit  of  man.  Though  impelled  by 
the  constitution  of  his  nature  to  worship  something,  he 
chose  to  worship  birds  and  four  footed  beasts  and  creep- 
ing things,  nay  the  work  of  his  own  hands,  rather  than 
God  over  all  who  is  blessed  forevermore.  The  earth  was 
filled  with  violence  and  steeped  in  pollution.  In  every 
single  individual  of  our  race,  unrenewed  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  evil  tendency  assumed  the  form  of  fixed  and  unal- 
terable habit,  and  thus  every  man  was  making  himself 
meet  for  eternal  banishment  from  all  that  is  holy  ;  while 
at  the  same  time,  he  was  treasuring  up  unto  himself  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God. 

The  conditions  of  the  probation  under  which  we  were 
created  having  thus  been  universally  violated,  nothing  re- 
mained but  for  the  law  to  take  its  course.  By  the  deeds 
of  the  law  could  no  man  be  justified,  for  we  had  broken 
the  law  during  our  whole  existence.  We  were  thus  all 
under  condemnation.  The  law  contained  no  provision  for 
pardon.  Sentence  had  been  passed  upon  us,  and  we  were 
awaiting  the  day  of  its  execution.  Earth  had  become  a 
mere  suburb  of  hell,  into  which  death  was  commissioned 
to  sweep  the  myriads  of  our  race,  from  the  first  sinner, 
Adam,  to  the  last  of  his  sin-smitten  posterity. 

But  though  all  was  lost,  the  compassions  of  God  were 
not  exhausted,  and  he  did  not  leave  us  to  perish  without 


12  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY 

hope.  The  terms  of  our  first  probation  having  been  vio- 
lated, eternal  life  on  the  principles  under  which  we  were 
originally  created,  wras  impossible.  It  pleased  our  Father 
in  Heaven  to  offer  us  a  second  probation  on  infinitely 
more  favorable  conditions,  so  that  although  we  had 
sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God,  we  might  be 
freely  justified  by  his  grace  through  the  redemption  that 
is  in  Christ  Jesus.  But  before  this  new  probation  could 
be  offered  to  us,  it  was  necessary  that  the  law  which  we 
had  broken  should  be  magnified  and  made  honorable.  It 
must  be  perfectly  and  triumphantly  obeyed  by  a  being  in 
our  nature,  and  yet  one  who  by  his  own  nature  was  not 
under  the  law  of  humanity.  No  other  being  than  the 
Son  of  God  himself  wTas  competent  to  assume  the  work  of 
our  redemption,  and  our  help  was  laid  upon  one  that  was 
mighty.  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  In  the  fullness  of 
time  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made 
under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law, 
that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons.  The  Messiah 
fulfilled  every  requirement  of  the  law  in  our  stead,  and, 
as  by  the  disobedience  of  one  the  man)-  were  made  sin- 
ners, so  by  the  obedience  of  one  the  many  were  made 
righteous.  He  suffered  whatever  was  necessary  to  redeem 
us  from  the  curse  of  the  law.  He  died  for  our  offenses, 
and  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God  in  our  stead. 
His  offering  was  accepted,  and,  to  assure  us  of  its  accept- 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  13 

ance,  he  was  raised  from  the  dead.  Having  finished  the 
work  that  had  heen  given  him  to  do,  he  ascended  to  the 
glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was. 
Having  humbled  himself,  and  become  obedient  to  death, 
the  death  of  the  cross,  God  hath  highly  exalted  him  and 
given  him  a  name  above  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven  and  of 
things  on  earth,  and  of  things  under  the  earth,  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father. 

By  this  interposition  of  the  Son  of  God  on  our  behalf, 
the  destiny  of  man  was  changed.  A  new  probation  on 
more  favorable  conditions  was  granted  to  us.  By  the 
conditions  of  the  former  probation  we  were  doomed  to 
despair  in  consequence  of  a  single  transgression.  Now, 
through  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  though  guilty  of  innu- 
merable sins,  we  may  be  accepted  through  the  beloved. 
God  is  well  pleased  for  his  righteousness*  sake,  for  he  hath 
magnified  the  law  and  made  it  honorable.  On  the  most 
merciful  conditions,  repentance  for  sin  and  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  every  child  of  Adam  may  be  pardoned, 
justified,  sanctified  and  raised  to  a  higher  glory  than  that 
which  he  had  lost  by  his  own  wilful  transgression.  Hence- 
forth the  gate  of  heaven  stands  as  wide  open  for  all  born 
of  woman  as  the  gate  of  hell.  The  change  in  our  condition 
is  such  as  the  imagination  of  man  could  never  have  con- 
ceived. It  is  a  change  from  darkness  to  light,  from  death 
to  life,  from  pollution  to  purity,  from  a  dwelling  forever 


14  THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

in  bell  with  the  spirits  of  the  damned,  to  an  inheritance 
incorruptible,  undefiled  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  re- 
served in  heaven  for  those  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
God,  through  faith  unto  salvation. 

Every  one  must  at  once  perceive  that  this  is  the  great 
event  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Compared  with  it, 
what  are  the  revolutions  of  nations,  what  the  deliver- 
ance of  peoples  from  bondage,  what  the  progress  of  man 
from  ignorance  to  knowledge,  and  from  barbarism  to 
civilzation  !  Nay,  could  we  combine  in  one  event  all 
the  most  stupendous  social  changes  which  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  they  would  all  be  lighter  than  the  dust  of  the 
balance,  in  comparison  with  the  mystery  of  Christ  and 
him  crucified.  This  is  the  good  news  spoken  of  in  the 
text. 

II.  Let  us  in  the  next  place  inquire  what  is  meant  by 
preaching  this  gospel. 

The  word  preach,  in  the  New  Testament,  has  a  meaning 
different  from  that  which  at  present  commonly  attaches 
to  it.  We  understand  by  it  the  delivery  of  an  oration, 
or  discourse,  on  a  particular  theme,  connected  more  or 
less  closely  with  religion.  It  may  be  the  discussion  of  a 
doctrine,  an  exegetical  essay,  a  dissertation  on  social  vir- 
tues or  vices,  as  well  as  a  persuasive  unfolding  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  No  such  general  idea  was 
intended  by  the  word  as  it  is  used  by  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament.     The  words   translated  preach  in  our 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  15 

version  are  two.  The  one  signifies  simply  to  herald,  to 
announce,  to  proclaim,  to  publish  ;  the  other,  with  this 
general  idea,  combines  the  notion  of,  good  tidings  ;  and 
means,  to  publish,  or  be  the  messenger  of  good  news. 
From  what  I  have  already  said  of  the  nature  of  the  gos- 
pel message,  it  is  evident  that  no  other  idea  would  so  well 
have  corresponded  with  the  facts  of  the  case.  A  great 
and  unexpected  change  had  been  wrought  in  the  condi- 
tion of  humanity.  Our  whole  race  had  been,  by  a  most 
astonishing  act  of  grace,  redeemed  from  inconceivable 
misery.  They,  however,  remained  ignorant  both  of  their 
danger  and  of  their  deliverance.  The  knowledge  of  this 
act  of  infinite  love  had  been  communicated  to  a  few  men 
who  had  availed  themselves  of  the  gracious  conditions  of 
the  new  covenant,  and  had  consecrated  their  whole  being 
henceforth  to  their  Kedeemer.  The  rest  of  the  world  was 
wrapt  in  Egyptian  darkness.  Mankind  still  continued 
under  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  were  passing  by  millions 
to  receive  in  everlasting  despair  the  just  demerit  of  their 
transgressions.  The  command  was,  Go  abroad  everywhere, 
proclaim  to  every  creature  the  news  of  redemption  ;  tell 
them  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  All  things  are 
now  ready,  bid  them  come  and  welcome  to  the  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb. 

When  the  Israelites  were  bitten  by  the  fiery  flying  ser- 
pents, and  the  bite  was  inevitably  fatal,  Moses  was  di- 
rected to  set  up  a  brazen  serpent,  with  the  assurance  that 
whosoever  that  had  been  bitten,  looked  upon  it,  should 


16  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

be  healed.  You  can  imagine  how  the  first  man  who  had 
felt  its  saving  efficacy,  flew  to  communicate  the  news  to 
his  brethren,  and  urge  them  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
remedy  which  had  delivered  him  from  death.  Every  man 
who  was  healed  became  immediately  a  herald  of  the  glad 
tidings  to  others.  Every  one  who  was  saved  became  a 
publisher  of  the  salvation,  or  in  other  words,  a  preacher, 
until  in  a  few  minutes  the  news  spread  throughout  the 
encampment,  and  in  this  sense  every  tribe  was  evan- 
gelized. 

Allow  me  to  illustrate  the  meaning  of  this  term,  as 
used  by  our  Lord,  by  an  occurrence  of  which  I  was  an 
eye-witness.  It  so  chanced,  that  at  the  close  of  the  last 
war  with  Great  Britain,  I  was  temporarily  a  resident  of 
the  city  of  New  York.  The  prospects  of  the  nation  were 
shrouded  in  gloom.  We  had  been  for  two  or  three  years 
at  war  with  the  mightiest  nation  on  earth,  and,  as  she 
had  now  concluded  a  peace  with  the  continent  of  Europe, 
we  were  obliged  to  cope  with  her  single-handed.  Our 
harbors  were  blockaded.  Communication  coast-wise,  be- 
tween our  ports,  was  cut  off.  Our  ships  were  rotting  in 
every  creek  and  cove  where  they  could  find  a  place  of 
security.  Our  immense  annual  products  were  mouldering 
in  our  ware-houses.  The  sources  of  profitable  labor  were 
dried  up.  Our  currency  was  reduced  to  irredeemable 
paper.  The  extreme  portions  of  our  country  were  be- 
coming hostile  to  each  other,  and  diltVrences  of  political 
opinion  were  embittering  the  peace  of  every  household. 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  17 

The  credit  of  the  government  was  exhausted.  No  one 
could  predict  when  the  contest  would  terminate,  or  dis- 
cover the  means  by  which  it  could  much  longer  be  pro- 
tracted. 

It  happened  that  on  a  Saturday  afternoon  in  February, 
a  ship  was  discovered  in  the  offing,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  a  cartel,  bringing  home  our  commissioners  at  Ghent, 
from  their  unsuccessful  mission.  The  sun  had  set  gloomily, 
before  any  intelligence  from  the  vessel  had  reached  the 
city.  Expectation  became  painfully  intense,  as  the  hours 
of  darkness  drew  on.  At  length  a  boat  reached  the  wharf, 
announcing  the  fact  that  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been 
signed,  and  was  waiting  for  nothing  but  the  action  of  our 
government  to  become  a  law.  The  men  on  whose  ears 
these  words  first  fell,  rushed  in  breathless  haste  into  the 
city,  to  repeat  them  to  their  friends,  shouting,  as  they 
ran  through  the  streets,  peace  !  peace  !  peace  !  Every 
one  who  heard  the  sound  repeated  it.  From  house  to 
house,  from  street  to  street,  the  news  spread  with  electric 
rapidity.  The  whole  city  was  in  commoiion.  Men  bear- 
ing lighted  torches  were  flying  to  and  fro,  shouting  like 
madmen,  peace  !  peace  !  peace  !  When  the  rapture  had 
partially  subsided,  one  idea  occupied  every  mind.  But 
few  men  slept  that  night.  In  groups  they  were  gathered 
in  the  streets  and  by  the  fire-side,  beguiling  the  hours  of 
midnight  by  reminding  each  other  that  the  agony  of  war 
was  over,  and  that  a  worn  out  and  distracted  country  was 
about  to  enter  again  upon  its  wonted  career  of  prosperity. 


18  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

Thus,  every  one  becoming  a  herald,  the  news  soon  reached 
every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  city,  and  in  this  sense, 
the  city  was  evangelized.  All  this  you  see  was  leasonable 
and  proper.  But  when  Jehovah  has  offered  to  our  world 
a  treaty  of  peace,  when  men  doomed  to  hell  may  be 
raised  to  seats  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  why  is  not  a 
similar  zeal  displayed  in  proclaiming  the  good  news  ? 
Why  are  men  perishing  all  around  us,  and  no  one  has 
ever  personally  offered  to  them  salvation  through  a  cruci- 
fied Redeemer  ? 

This  then  is,  I  think,  the  generic  idea  of  preaching  con- 
veyed in  the  New  Testament.  It  is  the  proclamation  to 
every  creature,  of  the  love  of  God  to  men  through  Christ 
Jesus.  This  is  the  main  idea.  To  this  our  Lord  adds, 
according  to  the  other  evangelist,  teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you.  The 
duty  then  enjoined  in  our  Lord's  last  command  is  two 
fold  :  First,  to  invite  men  to  avail  themselves  of  the  offer 
of  salvation  ;  and,  secondly,  to  teach  them  to  obey  the 
commands  of  Christ,  so  that  they  may  become  meet  for 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  In  so  far  as  we  do  these,  we 
preach  the  gospel.  When  we  do  anything  else,  it  may,  or 
it  may  not,  be  very  good  ;  but  in  the  sense  here  consid- 
ered, it  is  not  preaching  the  gospel. 

Hence  we  sec  that  we  may  deliver  discourses  on  sub- 
jects associated  with  religion,  without  preaching  the  gos- 
pel. A  discourse  is  not  preaching  because  it  is  delivered 
by  a  minister,  or  spoken  from  the  pulpit,  or  appended  to 


THE  APOSTOLIC  MINISTRY.        19 

a  text.  Nothing  is,  I  think,  properly  preaching,  except 
explaining  the  teachings,  or  enforcing  the  commands 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  To  hold  forth  our  own  infer- 
ences, or  the  inferences  of  other  men,  drawn  from  the 
gospel,  to  construct  intellectual  discourses  which  affect 
not  the  conscience,  to  show  the  importance  of  religion 
to  the  temporal  well-being  of  men,  or  the  tendency  of 
the  religion  of  Christ  to  uphold  republican  institutions, 
and  a  hundred  topics  of  a  similar  character,  may  or  may 
not  be  well ;  but  to  do  either  or  all  of  them  certainly 
falls  short  of  the  idea  of  the  apostle,  when  he  determined 
to  know  nothing  among  men  but  Jesus  Christ  and  him 
crucified. 

And  moreover,  the  command  of  Christ  supposes  our 
appeal  to  be  made  directly  to  the  consciences  of  men  ; 
relying  for  success  ivholly  on  the  promised  aid  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Our  Saviour  gives  us  no  directions  concerning  any 
indirect  or  preparatory  labor.  The  preparation  of  the 
heart  is  a  work  which  the  Lord  has  reserved  for  himself. 
We  are  not  to  go  about  making  men  think  well  of  reli- 
gion in  general,  with  the  intention  of  afterward  directing 
them  to  Christ,  and  urging  them  to  obey  God.  The  Son 
of  God  has  left  us  no  directions  for  civilizing  the  heathen, 
and  then  Christianizing  them.  We  are  not  commanded 
to  teach  schools  in  order  to  undermine  paganism,  and 
then,  on  its  ruins,  to  build  up  Christianity.  If  this  is 
our  duty,  the  command  must  be  found  in  another  gospel ; 
it  is  not  found  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.     We  are,  at 


20  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

once  and  always,  to  set  before  all  men  their  sin  and  dan- 
ger, and  point  them  to  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.  And  here  I  would  ask,  are  we  not 
liable  to  err  in  these  respects  ?  For  instance,  when  we 
profess  to  preach  the  gospel,  is  it  right  to  take  as  a  text 
the  words  of  inspiration,  and  then  discourse  on  something 
which  inspiration  never  taught  ?  It  is  not  enough  that 
what  we  say  is  true  ;  so  is  geometry,  or  chemistry,  or 
metaphysics  ;  but  is  it  the  truth  which  Christ  came  from 
heaven  to  reveal  ?  Again,  is  not  our  object  frequently 
far  too  low  in  preaching  ?  Do  we  not  sometimes  preach 
with  the  direct  design  merely  of  creating  in  men  a  respect 
for  religion  ;  and  of  inducing  them  to  aid  us  in  promoting 
the  objects  of  religious  benevolence,  instead  of  striving  to 
make  them,  by  means  of  this  very  sermon,  new  creatures 
in  Christ  Jesus  ?  Do  we  not  labor,  as  it  is  called,  to 
build  up  a  good  society ;  that  is  to  collect  around  us  the 
rich  and  the  well-conditioned,  instead  of  laboring  to 
save  souls  from  perdition  ?  The  Almighty  God  sends 
us  to  make  known  his  offer  of  salvation  to  sinful  men  ; 
and  we,  instead  of  delivering  his  message,  content  our- 
selves with  teaching  them  to  pay  a  decent  respect  to  us, 
and  to  our  services.  In  the  mean  time,  we  allow  their 
immortal  souls  to  go  unwarned  to  eternal  death.  On 
whose  conscience  will  the  blood  of  these  souls  rest  ? 

Such  then  is  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  ;  it  is  the 
proclamation  of  the  love  of  God  to  men  in  Christ  Jesus. 
It  may  be  in  public  or  in  private,  to  one  or  to  many,  from 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  21 

the  pulpit  or  at  the  fire-side.  Whenever  we  set  before 
men  the  message  of  mercy,  and  urge  them  to  obey  the 
commands  of  Christ,  then  we  preach  the  gospel  in  obe- 
dience to  the  precept  in  the  text. 

III.  But  who  is  thus  to  preach  the  gospel  ? 

What  would  be  the  answer  to  this  question,  if  we  lis- 
tened to  the  voice  of  common  humanity  ?  When  the 
brazen  serpent  was  lifted  up,  who  was  to  carry  the  good 
news  throughout  the  camp  ?  When  the  glad  tidings  of 
peace  arrived  in  the  city,  who  was  to  proclaim  it  to  his 
fellow-citizens  ?  When  the  news  of  peace  with  God, 
through  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  is  proclaimed  to  us, 
who  shall  make  it  known  to  those  perishing  in  sin  ?  The 
answer  in  each  case  is,  every  one.  Were  no  command 
given,  the  common  principles  of  our  nature  would  teach 
us  that  nothing  but  the  grossest  selfishness  would  claim 
to  be  exempted  from  the  joyful  duty  of  extending  to 
others  the  blessing  which  we  have  received  ourselves. 

But,  beside  this,  we  have,  in  the  text,  the  command 
of  Christ.  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  every  creature  ;  and,  lo  !  I  am  with  you  always, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  The  command  is  as  uni- 
versal as  discipleship,  and  it  is  to  continue  obligatory  till 
the  Son  of  man  shall  come. 

Does  any  one  say  that  this  command  was  given  only  to 
the  apostles  ?  It  may  or  may  not  have  been  so  ;  but 
were  they  alone  included  in  the  obligation  which  it  im- 


22  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

poses  ?  The  address  at  the  last  supper  was  given  to 
them  alone,  as  were  many  other  of  the  instructions  of 
our  Lord  ;  but  were  they  the  only  persons  to  whom  the 
words  spoken  apply  ?  Is  it  affirmed  that  they  and  those 
whom  they  should  appoint  are  alone  to  preach  the  word  ? 
I  answer  that  Jesus  Christ  never  said  so,  and  we  have  no 
more  right  to  add  to  this,  than  to  any  other  of  his  com- 
mandments. 

But  let  us  see  how  the  apostles  themselves  understood 
the  precept.  Their  own  narrative  shall  inform  us.  At 
that  time  there  was  a  great  persecution  against  the  church 
that  was  at  Jerusalem,  and  they  were  scattered  abroad 
throughout  all  the  regions  of  Judea  and  Samaria,  except 
the  apostles.  Therefore,  they  that  were  scattered  abroad 
went  every  where  preaching  the  word. — Acts  viii.  1,  4. 
Then  they  that  were  scattered  abroad  upon  the  perse- 
cution that  arose  about  Stephen,  traveled  as  far  as  Phe- 
nice  and  Cyprus  and  Antioch,  preaching  the  word  to  none 
but  Jews  only.  And  some  of  them  were  men  of  Cyprus 
and  Cyrene,  which,  when  they  were  come  to  Antioch, 
spake  also  to  the  Grecians,  preaching  the  Lord  Jesus. 
And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them,  and  a  great 
number  believed  and  turned  to  the  Lord.  These  men 
were  not  apostles,  nor  even  original  disciples  of  Christ, 
for  they  were  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene.  Yet  they 
went  everywhere  preaching  the  word,  and  in  so  doing 
they  pleased  the  Master,  for  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanied 
their  labors  with  the  blessing  from  on  high.     The  as- 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  23 

cended  Saviour  thus  approved  of  their  conduct,  and  testi- 
fied that  their  understanding  of  his  last  command  was 
correct. 

If  we  need  any  farther  confirmation  of  the  interpreta- 
tion which  we  have  given  of  the  precept  in  the  text,  we 
find  it  in  other  portions  of  our  Lord's  teaching.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman 
took  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal  until  the  whole 
was  leavened.  The  words  here  indicate  the  manner  in 
which  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  to  extend  itself.  Leaven 
assimilates  the  whole  mass  to  itself  by  the  contact  of 
particle  with  particle — each  particle,  as  soon  as  it  is  lea- 
vened, communicating  its  own  virtue  to  all  the  particles 
surrounding  it.  So,  every  disciple  of  Christ  is  bound,  by 
proclaiming  Christ  to  those  near  to  him,  to  extend 
the  kingdom  of  the  Eedeemer ;  and  every  one  who 
becomes  a  disciple  is  bound  to  make  it  his  chief  business 
to  disciple  others. 

Again,  our  Lord  declares  that  every  one  who  believes  in 
him  shall  be  the  means  of  imparting  salvation  to  others. 
In  the  last  day,  that  great  day  of  the  feast,  Jesus  stood 
and  cried,  if  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and 
drink.  He  that  believe th  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  hath 
said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water. 
This  he  spake  of  the  Spirit  which,  not  the  apostles,  but 
tJiey  that  believe  on  Mm  should  receive.  Thus,  as  our 
Lord  is  the  living  fountain  from  which  every  believer 
drinks  ;  so  every  one  who  has  drunk  of  this  fountain  be- 


24  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

comes,  in  this  secondary  sense,  a  fountain  to  all  who  are 
about  him. 

So,  in  the  message  to  the  churches,  delivered  by  the  as- 
cended Saviour  to  the  Apostle  John,  we  find  these  remark- 
able words  :  I  am  the  root  and  offspring  of  David,  and 
the  bright  and  morning  star.  And  the  Spirit  and  the 
Bride  say,  Come,  and  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come, 
and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come,  and.  whosoever  will,  let 
him  take  the  water  of  life  freely. 

You  see  then,  brethren,  the  nature  and  duty  of  the 
church  of  Christ.  It  consists  of  the  whole  company  of 
penitent  sinners,  united  to  Christ  by  faith,  animated  by 
the  indwelling  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  every  one  partaking 
with  Christ  in  that  love  of  souls  which  moved  him  to 
offer  up  himself,  and  every  one  laboring  after  his  example 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  This  is  the  object  for 
which  the  believer  lives,  as  it  was  the  object  for  which 
Christ  lived.  This  consecration  of  himself  to  Christ  for 
this  purpose,  is  a  matter  of  personal  obligation.  It  can- 
not be  done  by  deputy.  It  must  be  done  by  the  man 
himself.  He  can  no  more  delegate  it  to  another,  than 
he  can  delegate  faith,  or  repentance,  or  prayer,  or  holy 
living.  Every  disciple  must  be  a  discipler.  Every  indi- 
vidual is  leaven,  and  he  must  assimilate  to  himself  all 
that  comes  into  contact  with  him.  As  he  himself  drinks 
of  the  fountain,  he  must  become  a  fountain  to  his  fellow 
men  ;  otherwise,  he  has  not  drunk  of  the  fountain  him- 


THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  25 

self.  If  he  bear  not  fruit,  he  is  cut  off  as  a  branch,  and 
is  withered. 

This  is  the  first  and  primary  duty  of  a  disciple,  and  to 
it  his  whole  life  must  be  conformed.  He  may  enter  upon 
no  calling,  he  may  occupy  no  station,  he  may  indulge  in 
no  amusement  inconsistent  with  his  elementary  duty  of 
discipleship.  A  revival  of  religion  represents  a  church  in 
its  normal  condition,  the  condition  which  Christ  always 
intended  it  to  maintain.  Then  every  believer  makes  it 
his  great  concern  to  call  men  to  repentance,  not  as  a 
matter  of  form,  but  with  earnest  and  moving  persuasion. 
Every  convert  is  inviting  his  former  companions  to  turn 
unto  the  Lord.  But,  if  this  manner  of  life  is  appropriate 
to  a  revival,  it  is  appropriate  to  all  times  ;  for  men  are, 
everywhere  and  at  all  times,  sinners  hastening  to  the 
judgment  seat,  and  they  must  perish  unless  they  are  re- 
deemed by  the  blood  of  Christ. 

It  would  be  easy  to  show  that  it  is  by  involving  this 
obligation  in  the  very  elementary  idea  of  discipleship, 
that  Christ  has  provided  for  the  universal  triumph  of  his 
church.  On  this  depends  the  vitality  of  personal  religion. 
We  can  never  in  earnest  call  men  to  repentance,  unless 
we  are  living  holy  and  penitent  lives  ourselves.  Hence, 
also  arises  the  separation  of  the  church  from  the  world, 
and  hence  the  antagonism  which  Christ  declares  must 
always  exist  between  them.  Because  ye  are  net  of  the 
world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore 
the  world  hateth  you.     It  is  under  these  circumstances 


26  THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

that  the  church  has  always  gained  its  most  signal  victo- 
ries, and  when  these  principles  of  duty  exercise  an  abiding 
influence  over  the  life  of  every  disciple,  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world  will  soon  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  of  his  Christ.* 

*  There  is  matter  for  thought  in  the  following  remarks  of  Neander  : 
"  History  teaches  us  to  estimate  aright  the  deep  significance  of  this  Chris- 
tian truth,  ['  the  mediation  of  Christ']  here  developed  from  the  words  of  the 
Apostle.  The  entire  dependence  of  all  Christians  alike  upon  this  one  advo- 
cacy, to  the  exclusion  of  every  other,  being  based  upon  this  truth ;  we  ac- 
cordingly see  that  whenever  it  became  obscured  in  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness, that  dependence  was  again,  as  in  the  ante-Christian  period,  transferred 
to  a  human  priesthood  and  to  a  multiplicity  of  mediations,  and  again  the 
distinction  between  priests  and  laity,  between  spiritual  and  secular,  found 
admission.  And  thus  will  it  ever  be,  when  this  reference  of  the  religious 
consciousness  in  all  believers,  to  the  one  mediation  through  Christ,  is  cast  in 
the  back  ground  ;  is  obscured  or  misunderstood  " — Neander  on  John,  trans- 
lated by  Mrs.  Conant,  p.  57. 

"  The  word  'anointing'  suggests  to  us  the  ordinances  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion, from  which  it  was  borrowed.  Kings,  priests,  prophets,  received  their 
consecration  to  the  office  appointed  them  by  God  through  an  anointing, — the 
symbol  of  the  power  imparted  to  them  by  God  through  his  Spirit  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  their  calling.  By  the  outward  and  visible  was  signified  that 
which  in  its  fullness  and  completion,  was  to  be  wrought  inwardly  upon  the 
spirit.  Now  that  which  was  expressed  outwardly  under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion, and  by  a  single  act,  is  in  the  New  Testament  converted  wholly  into  the 
inward  and  spiritual,  and  working  from  within  embraces  the  entire  life.  That 
which  under  the  old  dispensation,  was  restricted  to  individuals,  intrusted  in 
some  manner  with  the  guidance  of  God's  people, — individuals  who  were 
thereby  separated  from  the  body  of  the  people, — now  under  the  new  dis- 
pensation belongs  to  the  people  of  God  universally.  The  limitations  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  burst  asunder  by  the  spirit  of  the  New.  First  of  all,  its 
founder  himself,  the  sovereign  in  God's  kingdom,  the  Saviour — is  called  tho 
Anointed,  the  Christ,  as  having  been  consecrated  to  his  work  through  the 
fullness  of  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God ;  as  possessing  in  himself  the  fullness, 
the  sum  of  all  those  divine  powers,  which  were  only  imparted  singly  as 
special  gifts  to  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.     So,  by  virtue  of  their  fel- 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  27 

Such,  then,  is  the  privilege,  and  such  the  duty  of 
every  disciple  of  Christ.  It  enters  into  the  elementary 
idea  of  discipleship.  With  this  every  other  subsequent 
idea  must  be  in  harmony.  No  ecclesiastical  system 
which  we  form  can  either  liberate  a  disciple  from  this 
obligation,  or  take  away  his  privilege  of  thus  laboring  for 
Christ.  Whatever  offices  are  created  in  the  church,  are 
created  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  disciple  the  better 
to  discharge  this  duty.  They  are  made  for  the  church, 
the  church  is  not  made  fur  them  ;  and  it  becomes  us  ever 
to  be  watchful,  lest  by  any  error  the  church  of  Christ  be 
deprived  of  this,  the  mainspring  of  all  its  efficiency. 

I  have  thus  far  spoken  of  the  gifts  which  are  common 
to  every  man  of  a  sane  mind.  But  almost  every  man  has 
some  peculiar  gift,  that  is,  some  naturally  bestowed  means 
of  usefulness.     This  also  he  is  bound  in  the  same  manner 


lowship  with  him,  are  all  who  are  redeemed  by  him  made  partakers  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  he  imparts.  From  the  fullness  of  the  divine  nature,  the 
divine  power  dwelling  in  him,  he  imparts  to  all.  This  is  the  inward  anoint- 
ing, the  inward  consecration  whereby  they  are  inwardly  set  apart  from  the 
world,  as  those  who  belong  to  God  through  Christ.  All  are  admitted  with- 
out distinction  to  the  same  fellowship  with  him,  and  receive  from  him  the 
same  inward  consecration  to  their  divine  mission  through  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Henceforth  there  exists  no  more  among  the  people  of  God  any  such  distinc- 
tion as  under  the  old  Testament  between  kings,  priests,  prophets  and  people  ; 
but  all  collectively  are  in  like  manner  consecrated  to  God,  have  an  equal 
part  in  that  inward  consecration,  in  the  illuminating  and  sanctifying  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  one  royal,  priestly  generation,  whose  nobility  and 
high  office  is  alike  the  heritage  of  all;  all  are  prophets,  through  that  com- 
mon illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Such  are  the  weighty  thoughts  con- 
tained in  that  single  word,  that  honorable  designation  of  believers." — Ibid., 
pp.  126-8. 


28  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

to  consecrate  to  the  service  of  the  Master.  A  brief  al- 
lusion to  some  of  these  will  sufficiently  illustrate  my 
meaning.  One  man  may  be  endowed  with  uncommon 
conversational  ability,  so  that  in  the  ordinary  intercourse 
of  society,  he  readily  leads  the  minds  of  men  in  any 
direction  that  he  chooses.  The  disciple  of  Christ  is  not  at 
liberty  to  use  this  talent  for  the  purpose  of  attaining  to 
social  pre-eminence,  or  for  the  gratification  of  personal 
vanity  ;  he  must  use  it  as  a  means  of  winning  souls  to 
Christ.  Beautiful  illustrations  of  this  form  of  consecra- 
tion of  talent  were  seen  in  the  lives  of  the  late  William 
Wilberforce  and  Joseph  John  Gurney.  Another  disciple 
may  be  endowed  with  skill  in  the  conduct  of  mercantile 
affairs,  so  that,  with  ease,  he  can  accumulate  a  fortune, 
when  other  men  would  merely  earn  a  subsistence.  This 
talent  he  has  no  right  to  employ  for  the  purpose  of  hoard- 
ing up  wealth  for  himself,  or  for  his  children,  or  of  pro- 
curing the  means  of  luxurious  extravagance,  or  fashionable 
display.  The  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and 
the  pride  of  life  are  not  of  the  Father,  but  of  the  world. 
He  must  consecrate  this  gift  to  God,  and  remember  that 
he  will  be  called  to  account  for  this,  as  for  every  other 
talent.  And  while  such  a  man  should  abound  in  alms- 
giving, let  him  be  his  own  almoner,  laboring  with  his 
own  hands  and  not  with  the  hands  of  others,  in  the  work 
of  benevolence.  Another  may  have  been  gifted  with  skill 
in  the  management  of  affairs,  in  arranging  and  carrying 
forward  plans  for  the  labor  of  others,  and  in  guiding 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  29 

masses  of  men  to  right  conclusions  in  all  matters  of  pub- 
lic concernment.  This  talent  should  be  given  to  the 
cause  of  religion  and  benevolence.  Such  men,  instead  of 
leaving  the  charge  of  our  benevolent  institutions  to  the 
ministry,  should  assume  it  themselves.  They  can  do  it 
better  than  we,  and  the  gift  was  granted  to  them  for  this 
very  purpose.  It  belongs  to  Christ,  and  to  him  must  it 
be  cheerfully  rendered. 

These  gifts  to  which  I  have  referred,  are  bestowed  upon 
Christians  for  the  general  service  of  the  church  of  Christ. 
There  are  but  few  men  who  are  not  endowed  with  some 
one  of  them,  which  it  is  their  duty  faithfully  to  improve. 
I  must,  however,  turn  to  those  gifts  which  have  special 
reference  to  the  ministry  of  the  word. 

It  frequently  happens,  that  a  brother  engaged  in  secu- 
lar business  is  endowed  with  a  talent  for  public  speaking. 
On  matters  of  general  interest,  he  is  heard  by  his  fellow- 
citizens  with  pleasure  and  profit.  This  talent  is  more 
largely  bestowed  than  we  commonly  suppose  ;  and  it 
would  be  more  frequently  observed,  if  we  desired  to  cul- 
tivate and  develop  it.  Now,  a  disciple  who  is  able 
successfully  to  address  men  on  secular  subjects,  is  surely 
competent  to  address  them  on  the  subject  in  which  he 
takes  an  immeasurably  greater  interest.  This  talent 
should  specially  be  offered  up  in  sacrifice  to  Christ.  The 
voice  of  such  brethren  should  be  heard  in  the  conference 
room,  and  in  the  prayer  meeting.  They  have  no  right  to 
lay  up  this  talent,  more  than   any  other,  in  a  napkin. 


30  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

And  still  more  is  it  incumbent  on  the  churches,  to  foster 
and  improve  gifts  of  this  kind.  Thus  we  arrive  at  the 
order  of  lay  preachers,  formerly  a  most  efficient  aid  in 
the  work  of  spreading  the  gospel.  I  believe  that  there 
are  but  few  churches  among  us,  in  the  ordinary  enjoyment 
of  religion,  who  have  not  much  of  this  talent  undiscovered 
and  unemployed.  Let  them  search  out  and  improve  it. 
Every  church  would  thus  be  able  to  maintain  out-stations, 
where  small  congregations  might  be  gathered,  which 
would  shortly  grow  up  into  churches,  able  themselves  to 
become  lights  to  the  surrounding  neighborhood.  I  know 
of  but  few  means  by  which  the  efficiency  of  our  denomi- 
nation could  be  so  much  increased  as  by  a  return  to  our 
former  practice  in  this  respect. 

But,  besides  this,  it  seems  plainly  to  be  the  will  of 
Christ  that  some  of  his  disciples  should  addict  themselves 
exclusively  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  Such  men  are 
called  elders,  presbyters,  bishops,  ministers  of  the  word, 
or  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God.  If  it  be  asked, 
under  what  circumstances  may  a  believer  undertake  this 
service  ? — I  answer,  the  New  Testament,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  always  refers  to  it  as  a  calling  to  which  a  man  is 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  No  one  may  therefore  enter 
the  ministry,  except  from  the  motive  of  solemn,  con- 
scientious duty.  If  he  choose  it  as  a  profession,  for  the 
sake  of  worldly  advantage,  or  that  he  may  enjoy  a  life  of 
leisure,  or  be  enabled  the  better  to  pursue  some  favorite 
studies,  he  has  mistaken  his  calling.     No  man  will  ever 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  31 

succeed  in  any  undertaking,  who  pursues  it  as  a  means  to 
the  attainment  of  something  else  ;  least  of  all,  when  he 
makes  a  convenience  of  the  service  of  God  in  the  minis- 
try of  reconciliation. 

If  it  be  asked  how  a  man  may  know  that  he  is  called  of 
God  to  this  work,  I  answer,  the  evidence  seems  to  me  to  he 
two-fold.  In  the  first  place,  he  must  be  conscious  of  a  love 
for  the  work  itself,  not  for  what  in  other  respects  he  may 
gain  by  it ;  and  also,  there  must  be  impressed  on  his  soul 
an  abiding  conviction,  that,  unless  he  devote  himself  to 
this  service,  he  can  in  no  wise  answer  a  good  conscience 
towards  God.  With  the  Apostle,  he  must  be  conscious 
that  a  necessity  is  laid  upon  him,  yea,  that  a  woe  rests 
upon  him,  if  he  preach  not  the  gospel.  He  who  is  im- 
pressed by  no  such  convictions,  had,  I  think,  better  pur- 
sue some  other  vocation. 

This  is  the  first  indication  of  the  man's  duty.  In  the 
next  place,  he  must  exhibit  such  evidences  of  his  call  to 
this  work  as  shall  secure  for  him  the  approbation  of  his 
brethren.  Of  his  own  feelings  he  must  be  the  judge  ; 
of  his  qualifications  they  must  be  the  judges.  When 
both  he  and  they,  after  prayerful  deliberation,  unite  in 
the  same  opinion,  then  he  may  conclude  that  he  is  called 
of  God  to  the  ministerial  office.  Neither  of  these  evi- 
dences alone  is  sufficient ;  the  union  of  them  is  alone  sat- 
isfactory. 

The  New  Testament,  I  think,  recognizes  two  forms  of 
ministerial  labor  ;  that  of  evangelists  and  that  of  pas- 


32  THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

tors.  Evangelists  are  specially  preachers,  or  missionaries, 
Men  called  to  this  office  are  endowed  with  peculiar  gifts 
for  awakening  the  careless,  arousing  the  secure,  directing 
the  attention  of  men  to  the  subject  of  religion,  and  thus 
planting  churches  where  Christ  has  not  been  named. 
The  particular  value  of  such  an  order  of  ministers,  in 
such  a  country  as  our  own,  is,  I  think,  apparent.  Many 
of  the  fathers  of  the  ministry  in  all  this  region,  the  men 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  your  present  prosperity, 
were,  for  much  of  their  time,  evangelists  ;  and  worthily 
did  they  fulfill  the  ministry  which  they  had  received  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

Besides  evangelists,  the  New  Testament  authorizes  the 
appointment  of  pastors,  that  is  of  ministers  of  the  gospel 
placed  over  particular  churches.  The  calling  of  such  a 
man  is  not  to  the  cure  of  souls  generally  ;  but,  first  of  all, 
of  the  souls  of  that  particular  people.  He  believes  that 
Christ  has  placed  him  over  a  separate  church  ;  from  that 
church  he  receives  his  support ;  and,  for  both  reasons,  he 
is  bound  to  devote  to  them  his  whole  service.  It  is  his 
duty  to  warn  every  man  and  teach  every  man,  that  he 
may  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus  :  where- 
unto  he  is  to  labor  according  to  the  working  that  worketh 
in  him  mightily.  It  is  his  duty  to  make  known  clearly 
and  explicitly,  and  with  tears,  the  danger  and  guilt  of 
the  impenitent,  to  arouse  the  conscience,  to  point  the  in- 
quiring soul  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world,  to  unfold  the  riches  of  divine  love  to 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  33 

the  believing,  to  guard  the  disciples  against  conformity 
to  the  world,  to  stimulate  them  by  every  holy  motive  to 
higher  attainments  in  piety  and  closer  conformity  to 
Christ,  to  reclaim  the  backslider,  to  counsel  the  tempted, 
to  caution  the  unwary,  to  comfort  the  sick,  to  speak 
peace  to  the  dying  believer,  to  suggest  to  his  brethren 
means  of  usefulness,  to  watch  over  the  discipline  of  the 
church,  in  all  things  showing  himself  a  pattern  of  good 
works,  and  ever  doing  the  same  work  which  he  urges  upon 
them.  He  is  to  labor  publicly,  holding  up  the  cross  of 
Christ  before  his  people  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on  all  oc- 
casions when  he  can  collect  them  to  hear  his  message. 
Wherever  he  calls  them  to  assemble  he  should  meet  with 
them.  He  will  accomplish  but  little  by  urging  them  to 
leave  their  secular  business  for  a  meeting  for  prayer, 
while  he  is  too  much  occupied  in  miscellaneous  business 
to  attend  it  himself.  But,  beside  this,  he  must  follow 
them  to  their  homes,  and  press  upon  them  individually 
the  claims  of  the  Most  High.  With  Paul,  he  must 
teach  publicly,  and  from  house  to  house,  testifying  re- 
pentance toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  if  he  would  finish  his  course  with  joy,  and  at  the 
close  of  his  life  take  his  people  to  witness  that  he  is 
pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men.  My  brethren,  is  not 
this  a  work  great  enough  for  any  man  ?  Can  any  duty 
vie  with  it  in  importance  ?  Doth  it  not  then  become 
us  to  give  ourselves  wholly  to  it,  that  our  profiting  may 
appear  unto  all  ?     Can  we  have  any  excuse  before  God, 

2* 


34  THR     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

if  we  fritter  away  our  lives  in  miscellaneous  business,  and 
give  to  the  work  of  God  the  mere  shreds  and  clippings 
of  our  time  ? 

You  see,  then,  the  means  which  the  Saviour  has  pro- 
vided for  the  universal  triumph  of  his  kingdom  upon 
earth.  He  requires  every  disciple,  as  soon  as  he  becomes 
a  partaker  of  divine  grace,  to  become  a  herald  of  salva- 
tion to  his  fellow-men.  He  is  a  fountain,  from  which  is 
to  flow  a  river  of  living  water.  The  doing  of  this,  is  the 
test  of  his  discipleship.  If  he  is  a  branch  that  beareth 
not  fruit,  his  end  is  to  be  cut  off.  He  is  the  salt  of  the 
earth,  and  if  the  salt  have  lost  its  savor,  wherewith  shall 
it  be  salted.  It  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing,  but  to 
be  cast  out  and  trodden  under  foot  of  men.  Secondly, 
every  disciple  is  bound  to  employ  for  Christ  every  pecu- 
liar gift  with  which  he  may  have  been  endowed.  Thirdly, 
every  man  possessed  of  the  gifts  for  the  ministry,  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament,  is  bound  to  consecrate 
them  to  Christ,  either  in  connection  with  his  secular  pur- 
suits or  by  devoting  his  whole  time  to  this  particular 
service. 

If  this  be  so,  you  see  that  in  the  church  of  Christ 
there  is  no  ministerial  caste ;  no  class  elevated  in  rank 
above  their  brethren,  on  whom  devolves  the  discharge  of 
the  more  dignified  or  more  honorable  portions  of  Chris- 
tian labor,  while  the  rest  of  the  disciples  are  to  do  nothing 
but  raise  the  funds  necessary  for  their  support.  The 
minister  does  the  same  work  that  is  to  be  done  by  every 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  35 

other  member  of  the  body  of  Christ ;  but,  since  he  does 
it  exclusively,  he  may  be  expected  to  do  it  more  to  edi- 
fication. Is  it  his  business  to  labor  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners  and  the  sanctification  of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  so 
is  it  theirs.  In  every  thing  which  they  do  as  disciples, 
he  is  to  be  their  example.  I  know  that  we  now  restrict 
to  the  ministry  the  administration  of  the  ordinances,  and 
to  this  rule  I  think  there  can  be  no  objection.  Bat  we 
all  know  that  for  this  restriction  we  have  no  example  in 
the  New  Testament.  In  other  respects  it  is  difficult  to 
discover,  in  principle,  the  difference  between  the  labors 
of  a  minister  and  those  of  any  other  disciple,  in  conver- 
sation, or  in  a  Sabbath-school,  or  a  Bible  class,  or  in  a 
conference  room.  All  are  laboring  to  produce  the  same 
result,  the  conversion  of  men,  and  by  the  same  means, 
the  inculcation  of  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
The  ministry  is  made  for  the  church,  and  not  the  church 
for  the  ministry.  We  are  not  Boodhist  priests,  or  Mo- 
hammedan dervishes,  or  members  of  a  papal  or  any  other 
hierarchy,  or  a  class  above  or  aside  from  our  brethren, 
but  simply  ambassadors  of  Christ,  your  servants  for  Je- 
sus' sake.  The  chiefest  of  the  Apostles  desired  no  higher 
rank,  and  with  it  we  are  abundantly  satisfied. 

You  see,  then,  my  brethren,  what  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment idea  of  a  church  of  Christ ;  it  is  a  company  of  be- 
lievers, each  one  united  to  Christ  and  pervaded  by  his 
spirit,  and  each  one  devoting  every  talent,  whether  ordi- 
nary or  peculiar,  to  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  world 


36  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

When  a  company  of  disciples  is  collected  together  in  a 
particular  community,  they  are  the  leaven  hy  which 
Christ  intends  that  whole  community  to  he  leavened. 
By  virtue  of  their  discipleship  they  are  called  upon  to  ac- 
complish this  work,  and  it  is  their  duty,  in  his  strength, 
to  attempt  it.  He  did  not  light  that  candle  to  place  it 
under  a  bushel.  Every  individual  is  to  become  at  once 
a  herald  of  salvation.  Those  endowed  with  aptness  to 
teach  are  to  be  sent  to  destitute  and  forgotten  places  in 
the  vicinity,  to  the  highways  and  hedges,  to  compel  men 
to  come  to  the  gospel  supper.  The  ministry  are  to  devote 
to  this  work  their  whole  time,  as  ensamples  and  leaders 
of  the  flock  ;  surveying  the  whole  field  and  suggesting 
to  each  brother  his  appropriate  sphere  of  labor.  Let  the 
disciples  of  Christ  thus  obey  the  Master  in  the  most  de- 
praved city  among  us,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  its  whole 
population  would  soon  be  subdued  unto  Christ.  The 
moral  atmosphere  would  be  purified  by  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  work  of  righteousness  would  be 
peace,  and  the  effect  of  righteousness  quietness  and  assur- 
ance forever. 

And  when  the  disciples  of  Christ  of  every  name  thus 
obey  his  last  command,  making,  as  he  did,  the  conversion 
of  the  world  the  great  object  for  which  they  live,  the  last 
act  in  the  great  drama  of  man's  redemption  will  have 
opened.  Private  believers  will  feel  their  obligation  to 
carry  the  gospel  to  the  destitute  as  strongly  as  ministers, 
They  will  then  be  seen  by  thousands,  like  Paul,  minister- 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  37 

ing  to  themselves  with  their  own  hands,  while  they  carry 
the  gospel  to  regions  beyond.  Then  will  ensue  the  iinal 
struggle  between  the  powers  of  light  and  the  powers  of 
darkness,  for  dominion  over  this  world.  Then  will  the 
heathen  be  given  to  Christ  for  his  inheritance,  and  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.  Then 
will  the  accuser  of  the  brethren  be  cast  out.  Then  from 
every  people  and  tongue  and  nation  of  a  regenerated 
world  will  ascend  the  anthem  of  salvation  to  him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  forever. 

If  now  we  need  any  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  these 
views,  I  think  we  shall  find  it  in  observing  the  manner 
in  which  the  church  of  Christ  was  first  planted,  under 
the  eye  of  the  Master.  It  was  simply  this  :  One  indi- 
vidual, when  called  of  Christ,  brought  other  individuals 
to  him.  John  stood,  and  two  of  his  disciples,  and  look- 
ing upon  Jesus  as  he  walked,  he  saith,  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God.  And  the  two  disciples  heard  him  speak,  and 
they  followed  Jesus.  One  of  the  two  was  Andrew,  Simon 
Peter's  brother.  He  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and 
saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  the  Messiah.  And  he 
brought  him  to  Jesus.  The  day  following  Jesus  findeth 
Philip,  and  saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.  Philip  findeth 
Nathanael,  and  saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  him  of 
whom  Moses  in  the  law  and  the  prophets  did  write,  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  the  son  of  Joseph.  Nathanael  saith  unto 
him,  Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  Philip 
saith  unto  him,  Come  and  see.     Thus,  by  contact  of  soul 


38  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

with  soul,  did  the  church  of  Christ  increase.  And  I  may 
add,  if  any  one  will  read  the  gospel  with  this  view,  he 
will  he  surprised  to  ohserve  how  much  of  the  recorded 
teaching;  of  Christ  consists  of  conversation  addressed  to 
individuals,  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life. 

A^ain,  ohserve  that  no  sooner  had  our  Lord  collected  a 
little  band  of  disciples,  than  he  employed  a  large  portion 
of  them  as  missionaries  to  announce  the  approach  of  his 
kingdom.  From  his  small  company  of  followers,  he  chose 
first  twelve,  and  then  seventy,  whom  he  sent  abroad  on 
this  errand.  If  every  church  among  us  furnished  heralds 
of  the  gospel  in  like  proportion,  there  w^ould  be  no  lack 
of  ministers. 

Observe,  again,  the  circumstances  under  which,  after 
the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  the  church  of  Christ  com- 
menced its  victorious  march  over  the  then  known  world. 
Against  it  were  arrayed  not  only  the  interests  and  lusts 
and  pride  of  man,  but  the  power  of  every  government,  and 
all  the  influences  emanating  from  a  luxurious,  refined, 
and  intelligent  civilization.  On  what  did  Christ  rely,  as 
his  human  instruments,  to  prostrate  this  vast  fabric  of 
tasteful,  venerable,  and  cultivated  idolatry  ?  He  made  no 
attempt  to  undermine  and  overthrow  paganism  in  gen- 
eral. He  published  no  discourses  intended  to  prepare  the 
public  mind  for  the  coming  revolution.  He  sent  abroad 
no  schoolmasters,  to  instil  the  principles  of  secular  truth 
into  the  minds  of  the  young.  On  the  contrary,  he  met 
the  whole  power  of  the  adversary  face  to  face,  and  brought 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  39 

divine  truth  into  immediate  collision  with  long  cherished 
and  much  loved  moral  error.  He  charged  every  disciple 
to  proclaim  the  gospel  at  once  to  every  creature.  He  se- 
lected those  who  were  to  be  the  first  preachers  of  the 
word,  the  first  ministers  of  his  church,  from  the  lower  and 
middle  walks  of  life — men  destitute  of  all  the  advantages 
of  special  intellectual  culture,  whom  their  enemies  re- 
proached as  unlettered  and  ignorant.  When  cultivated 
talent  was  required,  it  was  furnished  in  the  person  of  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  As  the  church  commenced,  so, 
to  the  close  of  the  inspired  record,  it  continued.  Ye  see 
your  calling,  brethren,  said  the  Apostle,  how  that  not 
many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not 
many  noble  are  called,  but  God  hath  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty, 
and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  that  are  despised, 
hath  God  chosen,  yea,  things  that  are  not,  to  bring  to 
naught  things  that  are,  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his 
presence.  Under  the  conviction  of  these  truths,  Paul 
labored  in  the  ministry.  Though  a  well  educated  man, 
who  had  profited  above  many  that  were  his  equals,  yet 
when  he  proclaimed  the  gospel  in  refined  and  luxurious 
Corinth,  although  the  preaching  of  the  cross  was  to  the 
Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness, 
he  resolved  to  know  nothing  among  men  but  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified.  He  did  from  choice,  precisely  as  his 
uneducated  brethren  did  from  necessity.  It  is  surprising 
to  observe  the  entire  simplicity  of  those  efforts,  by  which, 


40        THE  APOSTOLIC  MINISTRY. 

in  an  incredibly  short  period,  the  gospel  was  planted 
throughout  the  whole  Koman  Empire.  We  can  discover 
no  means  employed  to  accomplish  this  result,  but  pro- 
claiming to  all  men  repentance  toward  God  and  faith  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  imposing  on  every  regenerated 
man  the  duty,  in  turn,  of  proclaiming  the  good  news  to 
others,  always  relying,  and  relying  wholly,  on  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

It  may  be  said,  these  times  were  unlike  any  that 
the  world  has  since  witnessed.  But  let  us  ask,  does 
change  in  social  condition  render  it  necessary  to  adopt 
any  new  principles  in  conducting  our  efforts  for  the  con- 
version of  mankind  ?  Survey  our  missionary  field,  and 
observe  the  places  where  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  has 
been  attended  with  the  most  remarkable  success.  We 
number  among  the  Karens,  for  instance,  more  converts 
than  in  all  our  other  missions  together.  And  how  was 
the  gospel  preached  to  them  ?  They  live  in  scattered 
hamlets  along  the  water  courses,  in  the  jungle,  whose 
miasmata  are  fatal  to  a  foreigner,  except  for  a  few  months 
in  the  year.  During  this  brief  interval  the  missionary 
traveled  among  them,  preaching  Christ  to  one,  or  two,  or 
ten,  or  twenty,  as  he  could  collect  hearers.  The  Holy 
Spirit  was  poured  out,  and  sinners  were  converted.  Small 
churches  were  formed,  and,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
left  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  to  themselves.  With 
the  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity,  these  rude  men 
pointed  their  neighbors  to  the  Saviour.     Ministerial  gifts 


THE  APOSTOLIC  MINISTRY.        41 

manifested  themselves  among  them  as  they  were  needed, 
and  a  large  number  became  ministers  of  the  word.  The 
work  of  God  was  thus  carried  forward  with  remarkable 
power.  The  brother  whose  labors  among  them  have  been 
so  eminently  blessed,  worn  down  by  incessant  toil,  was 
obliged  to  leave  his  station  for  a  year  or  two,  for  the  re- 
covery of  his  health.  On  his  return,  fearful  that  his 
flock  had  been  scattered  during  his  absence,  he  inquired 
with  trembling  solicitude  concerning  their  condition.  You 
may  judge  of  his  surprise,  when  he  learned  that  about 
fifteen  hundred  persons  were  then  awaiting  baptism. — 
This  blessed  result  had  been  accomplished  by  men  hardly 
elevated  at  all  above  their  brethren,  for  they  had  no 
knowledge  whatever,  beyond  that  contained  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  the  few  books  and  tracts  which,  within  a 
few  years,  had  been  translated  into  their  language.  The 
contact  of  soul  with  soul  was  thus  leavening  the  lump. 
Pastors,  as  they  were  needed,  have  been  raised  up  among 
them  ;  and  these  are  now,  in  a  large  measure,  supported 
by  the  voluntary  effort  of  their  brethren.  Thus  is  the 
religion  of  Christ  displaying  through  this  whole  region  its 
power  of  self-extension,  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
attended  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

If  the  question  be  asked,  could  this  work  have  been 
carried  on  without  the  aid  of  men  of  more  cultivated 
minds  and  larger  knowledge  than  the  Karens  ? — I  answer, 
Certainly  not. — But  I  ask  again,  could  this  work  have  been 
carried  on  without  the  labors  of  these  rude  and  unlettered 


42  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

men,  who  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word  ?  The 
answer  is  the  same,  Certainly  not.  Our  conclusion,  then, 
is  that  God  requires,  and  that  he  employs,  in  his  vineyard, 
all  classes  of  laborers  ;  and  the  union  of  all  is  necessary 
to  the  accomplishment  of  his  work.  In  general,  I  think 
it  will  be  found  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
preacher  of  the  gospel  will  be  most  successful,  whose 
habits  of  thought  are  not  greatly  elevated  above  those  of 
his  hearers.  President  Edwards  was,  I  think,  without 
dispute,  the  ablest  theologian  of  his  time.  His  ministry, 
for  many  years,  was  eminently  successful  in  Northampton 
and  its  vicinity  ;  but  I  have  never  heard  that  it  was  at- 
tended with  any  remarkable  results  during  his  missionary 
life  among  the  Stockbridge  Indians. 

But  it  may  perhaps  be  said,  that  in  this  case  the  peo- 
ple to  whom  the  gospel  was  preached,  were  ignorant 
pagans  ;  and  that  we  cannot,  from  such  an  example, 
learn  the  best  manner  of  extending  the  church  of  Christ 
among  men  of  intellectual  culture.  Let  us  then  turn  to 
Germany,  and  inquire  for  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  gospel  has  wrought  so  powerfully  there.  Among  no 
people  on  earth  has  education  been  more  widely  diffused, 
and  now^here  has  teaching  been  conducted  with  more 
admirable  skill.  It  is  the  land  of  Luther  and  of  the 
reformation,  the  preceptress  of  Europe  in  science  and 
philology.     What,  then,  have  been  the  facts  here  ? 

In  the  year  1835,  a  Baptist  Church  of  believers  was 
constituted  in  Hamburgh,  consisting  of  seven  members, 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  43 

imbued  in  a  remarkable  degree  with  the  spirit  of  Apostolic 
Christianity.  Of  this  church,  Rev.  Mr.  Oncken  was  or- 
dained pastor.  That  church  of  seven  members  has 
already  multiplied  itself  into  42  churches,  sustaining  356 
stations,  numbering  4,215  communicants,*  baptized,  on 
profession  of  their  faith,  into  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Each  church  is  supplied  with  a  pastor.  Churches 
and  stations  are  established  in  Northern  Germany,  east- 
ward from  Hamburgh  to  the  borders  of  Russia  ;  quite 
extensively  through  Southern  Germany,  and  to  some  ex- 
tent in  Sweden  and  Denmark.  On  no  other  churches  in 
Christendom  does  the  smile  of  heaven  so  signally  rest. 
They  are,  emphatically,  a  field  which  the  Lord  has 
blessed. 

And  how  have  these  results  been  accomplished  ?  By 
following  the  example  left  us  by  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
the  little  one  has  become  a  thousand,  and  a  small  nation 
a  strong  people.  Every  disciple  acknowledged  the  obli- 
gation laid  upon  him  by  the  last  command  of  our  Lord. 
The  Holy  Ghost  bestowed  upon  the  churches  ministerial 
gifts  adapted  to  the  work  before  them.  These  gifts  were 
cherished,  and  called  into  exercise.  Preaching  was  com- 
menced wherever  the  Lord  opened  a  door.  Stations  were 
established,  and  the  men  were  found  to  occupy  them. 
These  stations  grew  into  churches,  by  which  other  stations 
were  sustained.     Thus  churches  were  multiplied  in  every 

*  Exclusive  of  those  who  have  been  removed  by  death  and  emigration. 
Many  of  them  are  now  residing  in  our  "Western  States. 


44  THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

direction  ;  the  Holy  Spirit  was  everywhere  poured  out, 
and  much  people  was  added  to  the  Lord.  Some  of  these 
churches  now  contain  two  or  three  hundred  members. 
Almost  all  of  them  sustain  stations,  some  of  them  as 
many  as  twenty  or  thirty  ;  and,  though  it  may  seem  in- 
credible to  some  of  us,  all  this  glorious  work  has  been 
accomplished  in  classical  Germany,  without  the  aid  of  a 
single  classically  educated  laborer.  Would  it  not  be 
possible  for  us  to  learn  a  lesson  from  our  brethren  in 
Germany  ? 

But  it  will  perhaps  be  said,  this  is  an  example  from  a 
foreign  country  ;  would  the  same  means  for  extending 
the  reign  of  Christ  avail  us  equally  here  at  home  ?  Cast 
your  eyes  backward  then,  and  look  upon  our  own  condi- 
tion some  fifty  or  sixty  years  since.  The  men  are  now 
living,  who  remember  the  Baptist  denomination  when  it 
was  the  least  of  the  thousands  of  Israel.  We  are  now 
among  the  most  numerous,  perhaps  the  most  numerous, 
communion  in  the  United  States.  By  what  means  has 
our  increase  been  so  astonishing  ?  How  has  it  come  to 
pass,  that  believers  in  such  multitudes  have,  through  our 
instrumentality,  been  added  to  the  Lord.  I  think  the 
answer  at  once  suggests  itself,  if  we  call  to  mind  the 
character  of  the  Baptists  of  the  preceding  generation. 
Though  plain  men,  generally  of  ordinary  education,  they 
were  men  of  prayer,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  each  one 
holding  himself  in  a  special  manner  responsible  for  making 
known  to  those  that  were  around  him  the  truth  as  it  is  in 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  45 

Jesus.  They  were  men  of  conference  and  prayer  meet- 
ings, and  revivals  of  religion  ;  who,  in  barns,  in  school- 
rooms, and  in  private  houses,  wherever  they  could 
collect  an  audience,  preached  repentance  toward  God,  and 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Every  talent  which  a 
church  discovered  among  its  members,  was  called  into  the 
service  of  Christ.  There  was  scarcely  a  church  amongst 
us  which  had  not  its  lay  preachers,  or  as  they  were  termed, 
licentiates.  Of  these,  many  from  time  to  time  entered 
the  regular  ministry,  and  thus  pastors  were  supplied  in 
proportion  to  our  need.  Our  settled  ministers  labored 
not  only  in  their  own  churches,  but  made  frequent  mis- 
sionary tours  in  the  more  destitute  regions  in  their  vicinity, 
thus  doing  the  work  of  evangelists.  While  we  were  thus, 
with  singular  earnestness,  devoting  all  the  means  in  our 
power  to  the  service  of  Christ,  the  Lord  added  to  us  daily 
of  such  as  should  be  saved.  Aud  nowhere  could  I  appeal 
to  the  result  of  these  labors  with  greater  pleasure,  than 
in  the  very  spot  on  which  I  stand.  The  numerous  and 
flourishing  churches  that  fill  the  whole  of  Western  New 
York,  this  University,  with  all  its  strength  in  the  present, 
and  its  boundless  hopes  for  the  future,  all  owe  their  ex- 
istence to  the  self-denials,  the  preaching,  the  prayers  of 
these  plain,  pious,  venerable,  and  never  to  be  forgotten 
men.  They  have  labored,  and  you  have  entered  into 
their  labors.  Of  late  years  our  progress  has  been  much 
less  rapid.     Our  views  in  many  of  these  respects  have 


46        THE  APOSTOLIC  MINISTRY. 

changed.  May  not  this  change  in  our  views  be  connected 
with  the  change  in  our  prosperity  ? 

These  instances  seem  to  me  to  throw  some  light  upon 
the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  on  this  subject.  I 
fear  that  we  are  in  danger  in  this  matter  of  forsaking  the 
instructions  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  following  the 
traditions  of  men,  not  observing  the  tendencies  to  which 
they  lead.  The  Reformers  brought  with  them  many  of 
the  errors  of  the  church  of  Rome.  May  we  not  have  de- 
rived, through  them,  some  erroneous  notions  respecting 
the  church  and  the  Christian  ministry  ?  Can  any  one 
fail  to  perceive,  that  the  views  of  our  Hamburgh  brethren 
on  this  subject  are  more  in  accordance  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament, than  those  of  Luther,  or  Calvin,  or  Melancthon, 
or  John  Knox  ? 

The  doctrines  here  presented  seem  to  me  to  have  an 
important  bearing  on  the  subject  of  Christian  and  minis- 
terial education. 

The  principles  which  should  govern  us  in  this  matter, 
seem  to  be  something  like  the  following  : — ■ 

I  have  said  that  every  disciple  of  Christ  is  under  im- 
perative obligations  to  become  a  herald  of  salvation  to 
his  fellow  men,  and  to  beseech  them,  in  Christ's  stead,  to 
be  reconciled  to  God.  This  can  only  be  done  by  the 
action  of  mind  upon  mind.  It  is  a  case  in  which  the 
mind  of  one  man  seeks  to  exert  an  influence  over  the 
mind  of  another.  To  accomplish  this  result,  it  is  obvious 
that  disciplined  is  more  powerful  than  undisciplined  mind. 


THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  47 

We  are  taught  by  Christ,  that  we  are  under  obligations 
not  only  to  use,  but  to  improve  every  talent  committed 
to  us,  that  we  may  have  the  more  to  consecrate  to  his 
service.  The  slothful  servant  was  condemned  because  he 
returned  his  talent  just  in  the  condition  in  which  he  had 
received  it.  This  is  the  universal  condition  on  which  we 
are  allowed  to  hold  every  gift  intrusted  to  us.  But,  if 
this  be  the  universal  rule,  how  emphatic  is  its  application 
to  intellectual  gifts,  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  talents 
with  which  we  are  intrusted.  Hence,  every  disciple  of 
Christ  is  under  the  most  imperative  obligations  to  enlarge 
his  knowledge,  to  cultivate  his  faculties,  to  discipline  his 
mental  energies  ;  that  he  may  have  the  more  to  devote  to 
the  service  of  the  Master.  A  wilfully  ignorant  Christian 
is  a  contradiction.  He  is  a  barren  fig  tree.  He  is  the 
indolent  servant  who  returned  his  talent,  which  he  had 
kept  wrapt  up  in  a  napkin.  When  the  Master  shall  ask 
what  he  has  gained  by  trading,  what  will  he  reply  ? 
Brethren,  the  law  of  the  Lord  is  exceeding  broad,  and  it 
would  be  well  for  us  if  we  more  frequently  contemplated 
the  universality  of  its  application. 

When  I  say  this,  I  beg  not  to  be  misunderstood.  I  do 
not  mean  to  teach  that  Christ  requires  you  all  to  qualify 
yourselves  for  what  are  sometimes  called  the  learned  pro- 
fessions, or  to  pursue  any  particular  course  of  mental 
culture.  I  mean  that  every  man,  whatever  be  is  calling, 
should  avail  himself  of  every  means  of  mental  cultivation 
which  Providence  has  placed  within  his  reach  ;  and  that 


48  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

lie  should  strive,  with  all  earnestness,  to  place  such  means 
within  the  reach  of  his  children.  Let  our  youth,  univer- 
sally, be  provided  with  every  opportunity  for  generous  in- 
tellectual discipline.  I  can  see  no  reason  why  a  farmer, 
or  a  mechanic,  or  a  merchant,  or  a  manufacturer,  should 
not  read  as  good  books,  and  be  as  well-informed  and  in- 
telligent a  man,  as  a  lawyer,  or  a  minister,  or  a  physician. 
I  have  thought,  that  our  institutions  of  higher  education 
should  be  organized  upon  this  principle  ;  providing  edu- 
cation not  for  one  class,  but  for  all  classes,  thus  enabling 
all  classes  to  avail  themselves  of  their  advantages.  To 
labor  for  these  results  seems  to  me  to  be  our  duty  as 
parents,  and  as  citizens,  but  above  all,  as  disciples  of 
Christ.  If  we  are  bound  to  consecrate  our  all  to  Him,  we 
are  just  as  much  bound  to  render  that  all  as  valuable  as 
possible,  that  so  we  may  have  the  richer  gift  to  lay  upon 
his  altar.  Looking  upon  the  subject  from  a  Christian 
point  of  view,  this  seems  to  me  to  be  the  principle  under- 
lying every  other,  which  should  govern  all  our  efforts  to 
educate  ourselves,  and  to  provide  the  means  of  education 
for  our  children.  Were  this  principle  universally  recog- 
nized, is  it  possible  to  estimate  its  effects  upon  the  pro- 
gress and  stability  of  individual  piety,  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  ? 

But,  secondly,  Grod  sometimes  bestows  upon  individuals 
particular  talents,  which  may  be  made  the  means  of  spe- 
cial usefulness.  One  has  a  remarkable  capacity  for  man- 
aging affairs,  another  for  mechanical  invention,  another 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  49 

for  philological  research,  and  another  for  the  pursuit  of 
abstract  science.  In  such  a  case,  it  would  seem  that  such 
talent  is  to  be  cultivated  with  special  care.  It  is  a  means 
of  usefulness  which  has  not  been  created  in  vain,  and  is 
not  to  be  recklessly  thrown  away.  On  the  same  principle, 
if  a  man  has  been  endowed  with  a  talent  for  public 
speaking,  though  employed  in  a  secular  calling,  he  must 
embrace  every  opportunity  in  his  power  to  render  this 
talent  serviceable  to  Christ.  Besides  availing  himself  of 
every  means  of  general  culture,  he  should  devote  partic- 
ular attention  to  the  improvement  of  this  special  gift. 
He  should  give  himself  to  the  study  of  the  word  of  God, 
and  should  labor  as  much  as  may  be  in  his  power,  to  ren- 
der his  instructions  profitable  to  his  fellow  men. 

But,  now,  suppose  it  manifest  that  God  has  called  a 
man  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  the  ministry  of  the 
word  ;  it  is  obvious  that  the  obligation  to  improve  his 
talent  to  the  utmost,  is  specially  imperative.  It  is  by 
means  of  his  intellectual  faculties  that  he  attempts  to 
influence  the  minds  of  his  fellow  men.  This  is  the  service 
to  which  they  are  exclusively  devoted.  He  is  laboring 
in  the  cause  which  employed  all  the  faculties  of  the  Son 
of  man  while  on  earth.  For  the  use  and  the  improve- 
ment of  his  intellectual  powers,  he  must  render  a  spe- 
cially solemn  account.  The  means  of  improvement,  which 
God  has  placed  in  the  power  of  those  whom  he  calls  to 
the  ministry,  may  be  very  dissimilar;  inasmuch  as  they 
may  vary  with  age,  domestic  relations,  pecuniary  ability, 

3 


50  THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

and  degree  of  talent  for  acquisition.  God  assigns  these 
conditions  as  he  pleases  ;  all  that  he  requires  is,  that  all 
that  he  has  given  should  be  faithfully  improved,  and  con- 
secrated to  his  service.  From  the  views  which  we  enter- 
tain respecting  the  ministry,  it  is  evident  that  a  large 
portion  of  our  candidates  for  the  sacred  office  must  have 
attained  to  some  maturity  of  age.  It  must  certainly  be 
difficult  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  a  person  in  mere 
youth  possesses  the  qualifications  which  the  Apostle  Paul 
teaches  us  must  be  required  in  a  candidate. 

If  it  be  then  our  purpose  to  provide  the  means  of  im- 
provement for  those  among  us  who  are  called  to  the  min- 
istry, it  has  seemed  to  me  that  we  should  bear  in  mind 
these  elementary  ideas  of  our  denomination  on  this 
subject.  If  we  are  willing  to  follow,  and  not  to  lead,  the 
Spirit  of  God — that  is,  if  we  educate  no  man  for  the 
ministry  until  we  are  satisfied,  not  that  he  may  be,  but 
that  he  has  been  called  of  God  to  the  work  of  preaching 
the  gospel — we  shall  always  have  among  our  candidates  a 
large  number  of  those  who  have  passed  the  period  of 
youth,  and  for  whom  the  studies  of  youth  would  be  un- 
suitable, if  not  useless.  Yet  these  are  the  very  men  to 
whom  appropriate  culture  would  be  specially  valuable. 
Others,  in  various  degrees,  have  been  more  favored  with  pre- 
paratory education,  and  the  means  for  more  extended  dis- 
cipline. The  means  and  advantages  of  our  candidates  must, 
therefore,  be  exceedingly  dissimilar.  If,  then,  we  would 
labor  to  give  to  the  ministry  the  means  of  improvement, 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  51 

we  must  provide  those  means  for  them  all.  A  system  of 
ministerial  education,  adapted  to  the  condition  of  but  one 
in  twenty  of  our  candidates,  commences  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  doing  but  one-twentieth  part  of  its  work, 
and  of  helping  those  only  who  have  the  least  need  of  its 
assistance.  We  should  therefore  provide  for  all  our 
brethren  whom  God  has  called  to  this  service,  the  best 
instruction  in  our  power  ;  adapted,  as  far  as  possible,  not 
to  any  theoretical  view,  but  to  the  actual  condition  of  the 
mass  of  our  candidates,  leaving  each  individual,  in  the 
exercise  of  a  sound  and  pious  discretion,  to  determine  the 
extent  to  which  he  is  able  to  avail  himself  of  our  ser- 
vices. While  means  should  be  fully  provided  for  pursuing 
an  extended  course  of  education,  we  must  never  lose 
sight  of  the  large  number  of  our  brethren  to  whom  an 
extended  course  would  be  impossible. 

But  in  what  way  soever  a  candidate  pursues  his  studies, 
whether  by  himself,  or  under  the  instruction  of  an  elder 
brother  in  the  ministry,  or  in  a  seminary  devoted  to  this 
purpose,  the  question  remains  to  be  considered,  to  what 
points  shall  his  efforts  be  directed.  In  attempting  to  an- 
swer this  question,  it  is  important  to  determine,  in  the 
first  place,  what  object  he  has  in  view.  His  object  is  to 
prepare  himself  to  be,  not  a  teacher,  or  a  professor,  or  an 
agent,  or  a  philological  scholar,  or  a  popular  writer,  but 
an  evangelist  or  a  pastor.*     His  calling  is  to  persuade 

*  It  is  not  by  any  means  asserted  that  theso  various  gifts  are  not  useful, 
or  are  not  to  be  cultivate  d.     What  I  say  is,  that  they  are  not  particularly 


52  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

men  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  to  build  up  those  who 
are  reconciled,  in  their  most  holy  faith.  His  studies, 
then,  must  all  bear  directly  upon  the  object,  for  which  it 
has  pleased  God  to  put  him  into  the  ministry.  The 
means  which  he  is  to  use  in  accomplishing  this  object  are 
simple.  He  is  to  make  known  the  will  of  God  as  it  has 
been  revealed  in  the  New  Testament,  and  to  urge  men  to 
obey  it. 

It  is  obvious  then,  first  of  all,  that  the  minister  of  the 
gospel  must  be,  as  thoroughly  as  possible,  acquainted  with 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles.  These 
contain  the  precise  truth  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
. which  he  is  to  communicate  to  others.  He  is  authorized 
to  make  known  to  men,  as  the  commandment  of  God, 
the  whole  of  this  revelation,  and  nothing  whatever  beyond 
it.  It  is  precisely  this  truth,  and  nothing  else,  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  has  promised  to  accompany  with  his 
almighty  power.  Now,  I  think  that  a  man  may  be  ma- 
terially assisted  to  understand  the  New  Testament  by 
improved  mental  discipline.  He  needs  to  acquire  the 
habit  of  continuous  and  abstract  thought,  the  power  of 
concentrating  his  mind  upon  a  subject,  and  keeping  it 
steady  to  its  work.  He  must  think  through  the  thoughts 
of  the  Bible,  that  he  maybe  able  to  present  them  clearly 
to  others.     But  let  me  say  that  this  is  far  from  being  a 

connected  with  the  ministry,  and  therefore  should  be  cultivated  elsewhere. 
Least  of  all  should  a  course  of  education  for  the  Christian  ministry  be  modi- 
fied for  the  sake  of  preparing  men  for  other  and  different  pursuits. 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  53 

merely  intellectual  process.  Simply  intellectual  power 
can  never  attain  to  it.  There  is  needed,  beside  this,  a 
devout  and  holy  temper  of  mind,  without  which  mere 
mental  strength  can  do  but  little.  These  things  are  hid- 
den from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed  unto  babes. 
Of  all  this  you  are  fully  aware  from  your  own  experience. 
When  you  have  been  desirous  of  ascertaining  the  mean- 
ing of  any  particular  passage  of  the  Scriptures,  in  order 
to  impress  it  more  deeply  on  your  fellow-men,  in  what 
manner  have  you  been  most  successful ;  by  turning  over 
the  works  of  men,  or  by  the  earnest  thinking  of  a  soul 
lying  in  lowly  prostration  before  the  Spirit  of  infinite 
wisdom  ?  I  do  not  stand  here  to  disoaraaje  either  human 
learning,  or  logical  acuteness,  but  I  say  that  these,  with- 
out the  aid  of  a  holy  temper  of  mind,  will  enable  us  but 
imperfectly  to  understand  the  mind  of  the  Spirit.  What 
we  need  is,  to  know,  not  the  thoughts  of  man,  but  the 
thoughts  of  God,  and  these  will  be  best  understood  by 
the  soul  illumined  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Here  I  may,  however,  remark,  in  passing,  that  the  reve- 
lation given  to  us  consists  of  ideas,  and  not  of  words. 
These  ideas  may  be  expressed  in  our  own  language,  or 
in  the  languages  in  which  they  were  written.  If  a  man 
have  the  opportunity  of  reading  the  Bible  in  its  original 
languages,  let  him  by  all  means  learn  to  do  it,  and  do  it 
thoroughly.  Let  him  embrace  this  and  every  other  op- 
portunity of  generous  intellectual  culture.  No  man  may 
innocently  reject  any  means  by  which  he  may  add  to  the 


54  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

accuracy  of  his  knowledge  of  the  word  of  God.  But  if 
such  opportunity  as  he  may  desire  have  not  been  given 
him,  let  him  not  despair,  or  think  himself  set  aside  as  a 
vessel  in  whom  the  Master  has  no  pleasure.  Let  him 
study  the  Scriptures  more  earnestly,  and  pray  more  de- 
voutly, using  every  means  which  God  has  placed  in  his 
power ;  and  the  Spirit  will  assuredly  lead  him  into  all 
necessary  truth. 

But  suppose  this  truth  to  have  been  arrived  at ;  it  is 
then  to  be  presented  to  the  human  heart,  so  as  to  pro- 
duce the  effect  of  persuasion.  Here  is  required  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  human  mind,  its  moral  condition,  its  opposi- 
tion to  God,  its  subjection  to  earthly  affections,  and  of  all 
the  phases  which  it  assumes  when  its  chambers  of  imagery 
are  illuminated  by  the  light  of  divine  truth.  In  order  to 
acquire  this  knowledge,  the  man  must  become  acquainted, 
first  of  all,  with  his  own  moral  nature,  and  the  modes  of 
its  operation.  When  he  tells  what  he  has  himself  ex- 
perienced, he  may  be  assured  that  in  general  he  speaks 
the  language  of  humanity.  Here  also  he  needs  to  be  in 
the  habit  of  personal  conversation  with  his  fellow-men  on 
the  subject  of  religion.  Hence  it  is  that  no  man  is  ever 
an  effective  preacher,  who  does  not  visit  his  people  for  the 
sake  of  urging  upon  them  personally  the  claims  of  religion. 
Have  you  never  observed  how  pungent  the  preaching  of  a 
minister  becomes  who  has  spent  a  few  weeks  in  the  midst 
of  a  revival  of  religion,  where  his  whole  time  is  occupied 
in  intercourse  with  awakened  souls,  and  how  such  a  min- 


THE  APOSTOLIC  MINISTRY.        55 

ister  carries  everywhere  with  him  the  spirit  of  a  revival  ? 
It  is  thus  that  we  learn  to  apply  the  truths  of  the  gospel 
to  the  minds  of  men. 

But  a  minister  is  ta  teach  publicly,  and  from  house  to 
house. 

Under  the  first  of  these  divisions  of  his  duty  must  be 
placed  the  composition  of  a  sermon.  He  whose  weekly 
business  it  is  to  address  men  publicly,  should,  if  possible, 
understand  the  nature  and  objects  of  a  discourse,  and 
should  learn  to  construct  a  discourse  correctly.  He 
should  acquire  the  ability  to  think  out  a  train  of  thought, 
which  embodies  oue  idea  revealed  by  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
and  to  lead  the  minds  of  men  in  the  direction  which  he 
intends.  Thorough,  faithful,  and  honest  dealing  with  a 
candidate,  may  here  be  of  eminent  advantage  to  his  fu- 
ture ministry. 

But  suppose  this  train  of  thought  to  be  thus  prepared, 
shall  it  be  written  or  unwritten  ?  Each  has  its  advan- 
tages, but  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  the  value  of 
written  discourses  has  been  in  this  country  greatly  over- 
rated. Speaking  an  unwritten  train  of  thought  is  by  far 
the  noblest  and  most  effective  exercise  of  mind,  provided 
the  labor  of  preparation  in  both  cases  be  the  same.  I 
can  not  but  think  that  we  have  been  the  losers,  by  cul- 
tivating too  exclusively  the  habit  of  written  discourses. 

But  the  discourse  having  been  prepared,  it  has  yet  to 
be  delivered.  The  cultivation  of  a  clear  and  impressive 
delivery,  free  from  awkwardness,  vulgarity,  and  oddity, 


56  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

and  deeply  imbued  with  the  tones  expressive  of  natural 
feeling,  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  a  public  speaker. 
It  has  surprised  me  that  in  seminaries,  of  which  the  ob- 
ject is  to  educate  preachers,  so  little  time  should  be  de- 
voted to  the  art  of  delivery.  From  want  of  attention  to 
this  subject,  good  and  able  men  frequently  attain  to  Very 
moderate  success,  and  are  shoved  aside  by  men,  in  other 
respects,  very  greatly  their  inferiors. 

But  the  gospel  is  to  be  preached  not  only  publicly,  but 
from  house  to  house.  In  preparing  for  this  part  of  his 
duty  a  young  minister  may  receive  much  valuable  in- 
struction from  an  elder  brother  who  has  himself  been  a 
diligent  pastor.  The  sick  are  to  be  visited,  the  mourners 
consoled,  the  thoughtless  aroused,  the  secure  alarmed,  the 
convicted  urged  to  decision,  the  penitent  pointed  to 
Christ,  the  wandering  reclaimed,  the  feeble  encouraged. 
All  this  is  to  be  done  by  personal  appeal  to  individuals, 
and  he  who  has  done  it  successfully,  may  give  much  val- 
uable counsel  to  him  who  is  just  entering  upon  the  work. 
Until  a  minister  has  learned  not  only  to  perform  but  to 
love  this  part  of  his  labor,  he  cannot  hope  to  be  a  work- 
man that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.  I  do  not  know 
of  a  more  common  or  a  more  just  ground  of  complaint 
against  the  ministry,  than  that  of  the  neglect  of  parochial 
visitation.  It  seems  strange  that  a  man  whose  sole  call- 
ing it  is  to  urge  men  to  repentance,  should  refuse  to  per- 
form this  duty,  in  this  particular  form,  especially  when 
his  people  themselves  invite  him  to  perform  it.     They  de- 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  57 

sire  that  he  should  converse  with  them  individually  on  the 
subject  of  their  souls'  salvation,  and  shall  he  consider 
such  conversation  a  drudgery,  and  leave  his  people  un- 
warned ?  If  any  one  desires  to  see  this  subject  treated 
of  with  great  force  and  eloquence,  I  ask  leave  to  commend 
him  to  the  perusal  of  "  Baxter's  Reformed  Pastor." 

Such  seem  to  me,  after  some  reflection,  to  be  the  points 
to  which  the  attention  of  a  candidate  for  the  ministry 
should  be  directed.  To  these  I  know  many  others  are 
commonly  added,  and  the  number  of  additions  is  contin- 
ually increasing.  We,  however,  seem  frequently  to  forget 
that  the  time  is  rapidly  approaching  every  young  man, 
when,  if  he  would  be  any  thing  but  a  retailer  of  other 
men's  opinions,  he  must  be  a  teacher  unto  himself ;  and, 
that  the  sooner  he  can  be  induced  to  put  himself  under 
his  own  instruction,  the  sooner  will  he  attain  to  the  sta- 
ture of  a  full  grown  man. 

It  is  possible,  my  brethren,  that  in  the  views  I  have 
thus  frankly  suggested,  there  may  seem  to  you  somewhat 
of  strangeness  ;  but  let  me  respectfully  request  that  you 
will  examine  them,  not  in  the  light  of  the  opinions  and 
practice  of  men,  but  in  the  light  of  the  teachings  of 
Christ  and  his  Apostles.  Believe  them  and  put  them  in 
practice  in  just  so  far  as  they  conform  to  the  revealed  will 
of  God,  and  no  farther.  This  I  may  reasonably  claim  of 
every  disciple  of  Christ,  and  I  have  no  desire  to  claim  any 
thing  more. 

At  the  present  moment,  a  right  understanding  of  the 


58  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

duties  of  the  private  disciples  of  Christy  and  of  the  min- 
isters, and  of  the  relations  which  they  sustain  to  the  Mas- 
ter and  to  each  other,  seems  to  me  of  incalculable  impor- 
tance. Since  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  Protestantism 
lias  made  no  aggressions  upon  Popery,  and  the  same 
geographical  lines  have  for  centuries  separated  the  parties 
from  each  other.  But  now  it  is  evident  that  a  contest 
for  the  mastery  of  the  world  between  the  powers  of  light 
and  the  powers  of  darkness  is  imminent  and  inevitable. 
The  nations  in  which  the  Bible  is  freely  circulated,  and 
the  gospel  publicly  preached,  are  ranging  themselves  on 
the  one  side  ;  and  the  nations  from  which  the  Bible  is 
prohibited,  and  where  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified  is 
forbidden,  are  ranging  themselves  on  the  other.  Within 
the  life-time  of  men  who  now  hear  me,  the  question  will 
probably  be  decided,  whether  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
now  to  proceed  to  universal  victory,  or  ages  of  intellec- 
tual and  moral  darkness  are  again  to  overspread  the  earth. 
It  is  for  such  a  crisis  as  this  that  the  disciples  of  Christ 
are  now  called  upon  to  prepare. 

But  more  than  this.  It  is  obvious  that  this  question 
is  really  to  be  decided  in  our  own  country.  So  long  as 
the  light  of  true  Christianity  shines  brightly  here,  the 
rest  of  the  world  can  not  be  enveloped  in  darkness.  Hence 
it  is  that  the  intention  is  publicly  avowed  of  overturning 
our  systems  of  universal  education,  and  thus  bringing  us 
under  the  power  of  a  foreign  hierarchy.  In  aid  of  this 
design,  immigrants  by  hundreds  of  thousands  are  annu- 


THE  APOSTOLIC  MINISTRY.        59 

ally  arriving  on  our  shores,  who  are  at  once  admitted  to 
all  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  while  they  are  conscien- 
tiously bound  to  obedience  to  a  foreign  ecclesiastical  po- 
tentate. At  the  same  time  the  press  is  scattering  broad- 
cast over  our  land  the  seeds  of  frivolity  and  licentiousness. 
Unbounded  prosperity  is  providing  for  every  class  of  our 
people  the  means  of  sensual  gratification.  The  rise  of 
prices,  consequent  upon  the  increase  of  the  precious 
metals,  is  stimulating  to  yet  greater  excess  the  desire  of 
acquisition  already  sufficiently  rife  amongst  us.  But 
critical  as  is  our  position,  there  would  be  nothing  to  alarm 
us,  if  the  disciples  of  Christ,  holy  and  self-denying,  were, 
with  one  accord,  ranging  themselves  under  the  banner  of 
their  Master,  and  using  every  means  in  their  power  to 
prepare  for  the  coming  onset ;  and  the  ministry,  in  the 
van  of  the  Lord's  hosts,  tilled  with  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  were  by  precept  and  example  training  their  breth- 
ren for  the  approaching  conflict. 

But  what  is  the  condition  of  our  churches  of  all  denomi- 
nations at  this  critical  moment  ?  The  disciples  of  Christ 
seem  to  be  fast  losing  the  distinctive  marks  of  their  pro- 
fession. Self-denial  for  the  cause  of  the  Kedeemer  will 
soon  become  the  exception,  rather  than  the  rule.  In  large 
districts  of  our  country,  the  admissions  to  the  churches 
are  not  as  numerous  as  the  removals  by  death.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  number  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  is 
diminishing,  in  all  denominations,  not  only  relatively,  but 
absolutely.     Nay,  it  is  diminishing  more  rapidly  than  the 


60  THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

figures  indicate,  for  of  the  reputed  number  of  candidates 
a  considerable  portion  never  enter  the  ministry  ;  and  of 
those  who  enter  it,  a  greater  and  greater  number  are  an- 
nually leaving  it  for  other  pursuits.  And  what  is  the 
remedy  proposed  in  this  unusual  crisis  ?  It  has  been 
recommended,  in  order  to  meet  this  emergency,  to  reduce 
the  cost  of  ministerial  education,  to  extend  the  term  of 
ministerial  study,  and  to  increase  the  pecuniary  emolu- 
ments of  the  ministry.  In  other  words,  we  are  told  to 
address  stronger  motives  to  the  self-interests  of  men,  that 
so  we  may  induce  them  to  enter  upon  a  calling  essentially 
self-denying.  When  the  whole  power  of  the  adversary 
is  thundering  at  the  gates,  and  the  crisis  requires  every 
man  to  stand  to  his  arms,  we  content  ourselves  with  of- 
fering large  bounty  to  officers,  and  allow  every  citizen  to 
retire  from  the  conflict.  Was  ever  a  victory  gained  by 
strategy  such  as  this  ? 

In  our  own  denomination,  it  is  said  that  we  have  4,000 
churches  destitute  of  preachers  of  the  gospel.  What  is 
to  be  done  to  meet  this  deficiency  ?  Does  all  that  we  are 
doing  furnish  us  with  the  shadow  of  a  hope  that  this  de- 
mand can  be  supplied  ?  Nay,  multiply  our  present 
efforts  to  any  practicable  extent,  and  compared  with  the 
work  to  be  done,  the  discrepancy  between  the  means  and 
the  end  is  such  as  to  awaken  the  feeling  of  the  ludicrous. 
Is  it  not  time,  then,  to  examine  the  whole  subject  from 
its  foundations  ?     May  not  some  light  be  derived  from 


THE    APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  61 

considering  attentively  the  doctrine  and  examples  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles  ? 

Is  it  not  evident  that  if  we  are  attempting  to  do  the 
work  of  God,  we  must  do  it  in  obedience  to  his  command- 
ments, and  in  conformity  with  the  principles  which  he 
has  established  ?  Ministerial  gifts  have  been  bestowed 
upon  the  church  by  Christ  ever  since  he  ascended  on  high, 
and  led  captivity  captive.  He  has  commanded  us  to 
pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  bestow  these  gifts  upon 
men,  and  thus  send  forth  laborers  into  the  harvest.  These 
gifts,  in  whatsoever  manner  bestowed,  we  are  to  receive 
cherish  and  improve.  By  no  rules  of  our  own  are  we 
to  restrict  their  number,  or  diminish  their  usefulness.  We 
are  to  accept  thankfully  all  the  means  which  Christ  has 
bestowed  upon  us  for  the  advancement  of  his  cause.  We 
are  to  cultivate  a  ministry  after  the  example  of  the  apos- 
tles, composed  of  men  relying  upon  prayer  and  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  in  self-denial,  crucifixion  to  the  world,  its 
maxims,  its  amusements  and  its  frivolities,  setting  an  ex- 
ample to  the  flock,  while  they  devote  themselves  daily  to 
the  work  of  saving  souls.  To  every  one  whom  Christ  has 
thus  called  let  us  give  every  intellectual  advantage,  which 
the  circumstances  of  his  individual  case  render  suitable. 
Having  done  this,  we  have  done  all  in  our  power  for  the 
improvement  of  the  ministry,  and  we  may  reasonably  ex- 
pect on  our  labors  the  blessing  of  God. 

But  when  all  this  has  been  done,  but  little  will  have 
been  accomplished.     If  you,  brethren,  would  improve  the 


62  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

ministry,  you  must  begin  by  improving  yourselves.  Min- 
isterial gifts  are  not  bestowed  upon  a  slumbering,  luke- 
warm and  worldly  church.  And  suppose  they  were  be- 
stowed, of  what  value  would  they  be  either  to  you  or  .to 
others,  if  you  are  surrendered  up  to  the  lusts  of  the  flesh, 
the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life  ?  The  ministry 
can  only  labor  successfully  as  you  labor  with  them.  If 
you  then  really  desire  to  witness  the  triumph  of  the  cause 
of  the  Kedeemer,  you  must  begin  to  live  a  holy,  self- 
denying  life.  You  men  of  wealth  must  cease  from  accu- 
mulation, and  devote  not  only  your  income  but  yourselves 
to  the  work  of  the' Lord.  You  men  in  active  business 
must  be  content  to  accumulate  less  rapidly,  that  you  may 
have  more  of  your  time  to  consecrate  to  the  salvation  of 
men.  Ye  who,  professing  obedience  to  Christ,  are  yet 
living  in  subjection  to  the  maxims  of  the  world,  eagerly 
chasing  its  frivolities,  and  teaching  the  lesson  to  your 
children,  must  commence  a  life  of  godly  simplicity  and 
Christian  self-denial.  Every  disciple,  by  his  mode  of 
life,  must  show  that  he  is  not  of  the  world,  even  as  Christ 
was  not  of  the  world.  When  ministers  and  people  thus 
begin  to  labor  in  earnest  for  Christ,  we  shall  witness  re- 
sults such  as  the  ages  have  not  yet  seen. 

The  nineteenth  century  since  the  advent  of  Christ,  is 
now  half  completed,  and  the  world  still  lieth  in  wicked- 
ness. Is  it  not  high  time  that  the  heathen  were  given  to 
Christ  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  his  possession  ?     Never,  since  the  beginning, 


THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY.  63 

have  the  disciples  of  Christ  enjoyed  such  advantages  for 
the  universal  dissemination  of  the  gospel  as  at  present. 
Let  us  then  go  up  and  possess  the  land,  for  we  are  well 
able  to  overcome  it.  Nothing  is  now  wanting  to  subdue 
the  world  unto  Christ,  but  an  universal,  earnest,  self-sac- 
rificing effort  of  his  disciples,  in  firm  reliance  upon  the 
Spirit  from  on  high.  Thus  far  we  have  failed  in  just  so 
far  as  we  have  trusted  to  our  own  wisdom  instead  of  the 
wisdom  of  the  Master.  We  mourn  over  the  vices  of  the* 
land  ?  We  invoke  the  majesty  of  the  law,  and  laws  are 
not  executed.  We  unite  in  associations,  and  our  associa- 
tions are  rent  asunder.  We  join  hands,  now  with  one,  and 
then  with  another  struggling  party,  and  we  are  sold  in  the 
political  shambles  like  brute  beasts.  Let  us  then  abjure 
all  such  vain  alliances,  and  commence  the  work  of  reform- 
ing the  world  by  obeying  the  precepts  of  Jesus.  If  we 
can  convert  men  to  Christ,  the  work  of  reformation  will 
be  done.  By  no  other  means  will  the  flood  of  iniquity 
be  stayed. 

Do  you  not  believe  that  if  all  the  disciples  of  Christ  in 
any  of  our  cities  or  villages  thus  labored  for  Christ,  they 
would  soon  arrest  the  progress  of  iniquity,  and  make  it  a 
garden  of  the  Lord  ?  Suppose  that  we  in  the  same  spirit 
undertook,  in  solemn  earnestness,  the  conversion  of  the 
world  ;  would  it  not  soon  be  given  unto  Christ  for  his 
possession?  Brethren,  on  whom  does  the  responsibility 
for  the  present  state  of  our  cities,  of  our  country,  and  of 
the  world   rest  ?     Awake,  then,  and   shake   yourselves 


64  THE     APOSTOLIC     MINISTRY. 

from  your  lethargy  !     Put  ye  in  the  sickle  and  reap,  for 
the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe. 

The  following-  Citations  are  appended  as  illustration  of  the  doctrines  dis- 
cussed in  the  sermon : 
Objects  of  the  Ministry: 

Acts,  xxvi.  17. 

2  Cor.,  v.  20.     Acts,  xx.  24. 
Call  to  the  Ministry,  to  be  judged  of  by  the  Individual  : 

1  Tim.,  i.  12.     1  Cor.,  is.  16. 
Qualifications  for  the  Ministry,  to  be  judged  of  by  the  Church  : 

1  Tim.,  iii.  2-7. 

Titus,  i.  6-9. 

Paul's  preaching  in  Corinth. 

1  Cor.,  xi.  1-8;  and  11,  12. 


SERMON    II. 

THE  CHURCH  A  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  CONVERSION"  OF 
THE  WORLD. 

That  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in  the  houso 
of  God,  which  is  the  church  of  the  living  God. — 1  Timothy,  iii.  15. 

In  the  New  Testament,  pious  men  are  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  individual  believers,  and  sometimes  as 
members  of  the  church  of  Christ.  In  the  text,  the 
Apostle  Paul  addresses  Timothy  under  the  latter  rela- 
tion. He  moreover  clearly  intimates  that,  to  this  rela- 
tion, there  attach  peculiar  and  important  obligations. 
He  desires  that  his  "  own  son  in  the  faith"  may  know 
how  to  behave  himself,  not  merely  as  an  individual 
Christian,  but  also  as  a  member  of  the  Christian  society. 
The  text  then  naturally  leads  us  to  consider  the  duties 
of  believers  in  this  particular  relation.  If  it  was  impor- 
tant that  Timothy  should  know  lioio  to  beJiave  himself 
in  the  church  of  God,  it  cannot  l?e  unimportant  to  any 
one  of  us. 

But  if  we  would  know  how  to  behave  ourselves  in  the 
church  of  Christ,  we  must  first  form  some  definite  con- 
ception of  the  nature  of  the  church  itself.  I  shall  there- 
fore, in  the  following  remarks,  endeavor  to  set  before  you 


66  THE     CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  on  this  subject, 
confining  myself  to  the  consideration  of  the  church 
of  Christ  as  an  association  of  men  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  particular  object.  When  we  can  form  a  clear 
conception  of  the  church  in  this  aspect,  our  duty  as 
members  of  it,  or,  in  other  words,  how  we  ought  to 
behave  ourselves  in  it,  will  be  self-evident. 

Jesus  Christ  left  his  disciples  without  any  organization, 
and  this  fact  has  appropriately  been  used  as  an  evidence 
of  the  divine  authority  of  his  mission.  In  one  respect 
this  is  perfectly  true,  and  the  argument  derived  from  it 
is  valid.  The  Messiah  established  no  organization  such 
as  ever  entered  into  the  mind  of  man.  He  appointed  no 
successor,  nor  did  he  confer  on  his  disciples  the  power  to 
make  any  such  appointment.  The  office  of  apostle  also 
was  limited  to  those  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  had 
been  personally  appointed  by  Christ  himself.  It,  of 
course,  terminated  with  the  men  who  first  held  it,  and 
they  had  no  successors.  Nor  did  Jesus  form  any  consti- 
tution for  the  government  of  his  church,  such  as  we  see 
in  all  human  organizations.  We  find  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, not  a  word  about  the  different  grades  of  office,  or 
their  functions,  duties,  responsibilities  and  powers,  such 
as  we  find  in  the  constitutions  of  all  other  bodies  politic. 
Our  Lord,  once  for  all,  repudiates  in  the  most  pointed 
manner,  every  such  idea  as  wholly  inconsistent  with  the 
nature  of  the  church  which  he  was  establishing.  One  is 
your  Master,  said  he,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren. 


FOR     THE     CONVERSION     OF     THE     WORLD.      67 

We  see  then  that,  in  Christ's  view  of  his  church,  there 
was  one  Head  over  all,  and  that  all  the  members  were  on 
the  level  of  absolute  equality.  So,  again,  the  mother  of 
Zebedee's  children,  with  her  sons,  came  to  him  worshipping 
him,  and  desiring  a  certain  thing  of  him.  And  he  said 
unto  her,  What  wilt  thou  ?  She  saith  unto  him,  Grant 
that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  one  on  thy  right  hand, 
and  the  other  on  thy  left,  in  thy  kingdom.  After  expos- 
ing the  folly  of  her  request,  he  called  the  disciples  unto 
him  and  said,  Ye  know  that  the  princes  of  the  Gentiles 
exercise  dominion  over  them,  and  they  that  are  great 
exercise  authority  over  them  (i.  e.  the  princes),  but  it  shall 
not  be  so  among  you,  but  whosoever  will  be  great  among 
you  let  him  be  your  minister,  and  whosoever  will  be  chief 
among  you  let  him  be  your  servant,  even  as  the  Son  of 
Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many.  That  is  to  say,  In  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  there  exist  various  gradations  of 
rank  and  authority,  each  officer  being  subject  to  those 
above  him,  and  controlling  those  below  him  ;  but,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  no  such  gradations  of  office  exist. 
Superiority  here  depends  wholly  on  moral  character.  He 
is  the  greatest  in  this  kingdom  who  attains  to  the  highest 
degree  of  humble,  self-sacrificing  benevolence.  He,  whose 
life  most  closely  resembles  the  life  of  Christ,  is  the 
greatest  here.  The  Master,  though  in  the  form  of  God, 
and  thinking  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of 


b»  ,  THE     CHURCH     A     SOCIETY 

a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  man,  and 
being  formed  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself  and 
became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross. 
This  is  the  highest  conception  of  greatness  which  the 
universe  presents.  He  surely  must  be  the  greatest  on 
earth,  who,  in  his  character,  most  accurately  realizes  it. 

Thus,  utterly  without  visible  organization,  did  Christ 
leave  his  disciples.  There  was  only  one  officer  having  au- 
thority, it  was  the  Eedeemer  himself.  All  below  him 
were  brethren  standing  on  the  same  undistinguished  level. 
If  any  one  was  ambitious  of  greatness,  there  was  only 
one  way  pointed  out  by  which  he  could  attain  it.  He 
must  sink  himself  below  that  level,  and  become  more 
emphatically  the  servant  of  all.  So,  after  he  had  washed 
their  feet,  and  had  taken  his  garments,  and  was  set  clown 
again,  he  said  unto  them,  Know  ye  what  I  have  done 
unto  you  ?  Ye  call  me  Master  and  Lord,  and  ye  say 
well,  for  so  I  am.  If  I  then,  your  Lord  and  Master, 
have  washed  your  feet,  ye  also  ought  to  wash  one  an- 
other's feet.  For  I  have  given  you  an  example  that  ye 
should  do  as  I  have  done  to  you. 

While,  however,  all  this  is  true,  it  is  not  true  that 
Christ  left  to  his  disciples  a  work  without  providing  the 
means  by  which  it  should  be  accomplished.  He  organized 
a  society  of  the  most  remarkable  character,  designed  to 
subdue  this  world  to  God,  and  he  adapted  it  perfectly  to 
its  purpose.  The  whole  conception  of  it  is  so  unique,  it 
is  in  every  respect  so  entirely  unlike  any  association  ever 


FOE     THE     CONVERSION     OF    THE    WORLD.      69 

framed  by  the  mind  of  man,  so  perfectly  in  contrast  with 
all  that  man  has  ever  designed  or  even  imagioed;  and  yet 
containing  within  itself  the  elements  of  such  irresistible 
power  and  the  necessity  of  such  marvellous  self-extension, 
that  we  recognize  its  origin  in  the  mind  of  God  :  it  never 
had  its  birth  among  the  thoughts  of  man. 

Let  us  then  proceed  to  examine  the  theory  of  the 
Christian  church;  as  a  society  established  by  Christ  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  purpose  for  which  he  became 
incarnate. 

A  society  consists  of  certain  individuals,  voluntarily 
united  under  a  common  law,  for  the  accomplishment  of  a 
specific  object. 

In  examining  the  nature  of  any  society,  three  distinct 
points  of  inquiry  immediately  present  themselves.  First, 
what  is  the  character,  and  what  are  the  qualifications  of 
those  who  compose  it  ?  secondly,  what  is  the  object  which 
it  intends  to  accomplish  ?  and,  thirdly,  what  are  the  laws 
by  which  it  is  governed  ?  Understanding  these,  we  may 
easily  form  a  distinct  opinion  of  the  nature  and  effective- 
ness of  such  association. 

I.  What  are  the  qualifications  for  membership  of  that 
society  which  Christ  established,  sometimes  called  the 
kingdom  of  God,  sometimes  the  church,  or  the  house  of 
God,  and  sometimes  the  church  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ  ? 

When  the  Son  of  God  came  to  our  earth  to  establish 
his  kingdom,  he  found  the  whole  world  in  open  rebellion 


70  THE     CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

against  his  Father.  AH  flesh  had  corrupted  its  way.  The 
Gentile  world  was  universally  given  over  to  idolatry. 
Every  true  conception  of  God  had  been  banished  from 
the  minds  of  men.  Because  they  did  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge,  God  had  given  them  over  to  the 
control  of  every  evil  passion,  and  every  degrading  lust. 
Not  only  did  they  do  these  things,  they  had  pleasure  in 
those  that  did  them.  The  Jews,  while  retaining  in  their 
Scriptures  the  written  knowledge  of  God,  were  as  base 
and  vastly  more  guilty  than  the  heathen  themselves,  so 
that,  through  them,  the  name  of  God  was  blasphemed 
among  the  Gentiles.  Here  and  there  a  pious  soul  was 
looking  for  the  salvation  of  Israel,  but,  even  in  such  rare 
and  exceptional  cases,  this  hope  was  blended  with  low 
ideas  of  temporal  sovereignty,  and  the  expectation  that 
God  was  about  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel.  The 
idea  of  God  as  the  Creator  of  all,  loving  all  the  race  of 
man  with  an  equal  and  unspeakable  love,  infinitely  holy, 
and  yet  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  giving  up  his 
well-beloved  Son  for  our  offences,  and  thus  opening  wide 
for  us  all  the  gate  of  heaven,  did  not  then  exist  upon 
earth,  except  in  the  bosom  of  the  Messiah.  Of  the  peo- 
ple there  was  none  with  him.  Not  one  of  the  race  of 
man  had  ever  risen  to  so  mighty  a  conception.  He  alone 
comprehended  it,  and  comprehended  it  in  all  its  gran- 
deur. "He  was  conscious  that  he  was  set  apart  to  carry 
into  effect  this  astonishing  purpose  of  God.  He  bowed 
himself  to  assume  the  weight  of  this  stupendous  under- 


FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   71 

taking.  He,  standing  alone  on  this  round  earth,  conse- 
crated himself  to  the  work  of  turning  its  teeming  millions 
from  their  rebellion  against  God,  and  of  making  them 
the  dutiful  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty. 
He  saw  the  intense  guilt  which  denied  the  soul  of  every 
one  born  of  woman,  and  he  undertook  to  cleanse  and  pu- 
rify and  sanctify  all  who  would  believe  on  and  receive 
him  as  the  Saviour  of  their  souls. 

One  part  of  this  work  consisted  in  his  sacrifice  for  sin. 
He  obeyed  the  law  which  we  had  broken,  and  gave  him- 
self up  for  our  offences.  He  thus  removed  the  obstacles 
to  our  pardon  and  restoration,  which,  under  the  holy  gov- 
ernment of  God,  had  otherwise  rendered  our  salvation 
impossible.  These  obstacles  he  took  out  of  the  way, 
nailing  them  to  his  cross.  Salvation  was  now  as  free  as 
condemnation.  Whosoever  believed  in  him  could  never 
perish,  but  had  passed  from  death  unto  life. 

The  foundations  of  this  kingdom  were  thus  laid.  But 
how  was  the  good  news  of  pardon  to  be  carried  to  a  world 
that  hated  the  very  Messiah  who  told  of  peace  on  earth 
and  good  will  to  man  ?  A  plan  must  be  devised  by  which 
this  good  news  should  be  proclaimed,  in  circles  widening 
and  multiplying  from  age  to  age,  until  every  nation  should 
be  subjected  to  the  faith,  and  the  kingdoms  of  the  world 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ. 

In  forming  a  society  for  this  purpose  Jesus  Christ  ex- 
plicitly informs  us  what  are  the  qualifications  of  its  mem- 
bers.    From  these  qualifications  hereditary  descent  is  at 


72  THE    CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

once  excluded.  Here  it  is  of  no  avail  to  have  even 
Abraham  for  our  father.  The  members  of  this  society 
are  neither  born  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor 
of  the  will  of  man.  Parentage  can  give  us  no  title  to 
membership.  No  work  of  man,  no  rites  which  he  can 
impose,  no  ceremonies  that  he  can  perform,  can  introduce 
us  into  this  society.  It  is  a  spiritual  kingdom,  and  the 
change  which  prepares  us  for  it,  is  wrought  in  our  souls 
only  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Except  a  man  be  horn  again  he  can  not  see  the  king- 
dom of  God.  As  by  physical  birth  we  become  members 
of  that  civil  society  which  embraces  the  whole  brother- 
hood of  man  ;  so,  by  the  spiritual  birth,  we  become  mem- 
bers of  the  society  which  Christ  has  established,  the  gen- 
eral assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born.  This  birth 
involves  an  entire  change  of  moral  affections.  The  su- 
preme love  of  the  sinner  is  transferred  from  the  vanities 
and  follies,  the  lusts  and  ambition  of  earth,  and  is  fixed 
on  God  his  Father  and  Christ  his  Eedeemer.  God  be- 
comes the  all-sufficient  portion  of  the  renewed  soul.  lis 
controlling  and  all-absorbing  desire  is  to  please  God  and 
to  be  like  him.  The  man  would  in  all  things  be  perfect 
as  his  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  The  change  wrought 
in  him  by  this  new  birth  is  likened  by  the  Apostle  to  that 
wrought  in  Christ,  when,  from  his  lifeless  state  in  the 
tomb  of  Joseph,  God  raised  him  to  glory,  and  set  him  at 
his  own  right  hand,  far  above  all  principalities,  and  powers, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named, 


FOE  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   73 

not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come, 
and  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet.  Not  only  is  thv 
transformation  of  the  human  soul  to  be  compared  to 
nothing  less  than  this  change  in  the  personal  condition  of 
the  Eedeemer  ;  the  power  also  by  which  it  is  effected  is 
declared  to  be  equally  stupendous.  Such  is  the  moral 
change  which  must  be  wrought  in  us  before  we  can  enter 
the  society  which  Christ  has  established. 

As  soon  as  a  member  is  received  into  the  society  of 
Christ,  he  is  at  once  entitled  to  all  its  privileges.  Whether 
young  or  old,  learned  or  ignorant,  bond  or  free,  bonored 
or  despised,  he  is  at  once  admitted  to  an  equal  share  in 
all  the  blessings  promised  in  the  gospel.  He  was  under 
condemnation,  but  there  is  now  no  condemnation  to  those 
that  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  He  was  an  alien  and  a  foreigner, 
he  is  now  a  fellow-citizen  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God.  He  was  a  stranger  from  the  covenants 
of  promise,  now,  all  the  promises  of  God  are  unto  him 
yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus.  He  was  living  without 
hope,  he  now  has  a  hope  sure  and  steadfast,  entering 
within  the  vail.  He  was  without  God  in  the  world,  now 
he  dwells  in  God  and  God  dwells  in  him.  Christ  was  to 
him  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,  having  neither  form  nor 
comeliness ;  now,  for  him  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is 
gain.  This  wrorld  was  his  home,  and  he  looked  for  nothing 
beyond  it,  now  it  is  but  the  resting-place  in  which  he 
tarries  for  the  night,  until  the  day  dawn  and  the  day  star 
arise  in  his  heart.     He  was  once  willing  to  barter  away 

4 


74  THE    CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

his  soul  for  wealth  and  honor  and  pleasure,  now,  the 
world  is  crucified  to  him,  and  he  is  crucified  to  the  world. 
Once  the  grave  was  to  him  the  gloomy  passage  to  yet 
more  gloomy  darkness  ;  now,  it  is  the  entrance  to  an  im- 
mortality of  light,  the  introduction  to  the  immediate 
presence  of  the  Saviour  who  loved  him  and  gave  himself 
for  him.  The  day  of  final  account  was  to  him  an  object 
of  unutterable  dread,  for  he  knew  that  then  he  had  no 
intercessor  ;  now,  he  can  look  forward  to  it  in  humble  joy, 
knowing  that  he  shall  appear  clothed  in  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  and  be  a  partaker  in  the  merits  of  his  all- 
sufficient  sacrifice.  Beyond,  all  is  joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory,  for  he  knows  that  neither  life,  nor  death, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  pres- 
ent, nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  -any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  him  from  the  love 
of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  his  Lord. 

The  member  admitted  to  this  society,  partakes  at  once 
of  the  communion  of  saints.  Every  Christian  receives 
him  as  a  brother,  and  bestows  upon  him  more  than  a 
brother's  love.  To  every  believer,  Christ  is  precious,  for 
in  him  is  united  every  moral  excellence  that  can  attract 
a  renewed  soul.  But  every  believer  is  formed  in  the  like- 
ness of  Christ,  and  this  likeness  can  be  found  nowhere 
else  on  earth.  Those  who  love  the  original,  can  not  but 
love  his  image  reflected  from  the  souls  of  his  disciples. 
If  we  love  him  who  begat,  we  must  love  those  that  are 
begotten  of  him.     This  love  is  one  of  the  very  first  tests 


FOE     THE     CONVERSION     OF    THE    WORLD.       75 

of  membership  of  Christ's  society.  By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to 
another.  By  this  do  we  know  that  we  are  passed  from 
death  to  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  How  could 
it  be  otherwise  ?  Christ  is  the  head,  and  every  believer 
is  a  member  of  his  body,  and  if  one  member  suffer,  must 
not  all  the  members  suffer  with  it  ?  The  Christian  be- 
holds in  his  brother  those  moral  elements  which  he  loves 
better  than  any  thing  else  on  earth.  He  loves  him  be- 
cause he  venerates,  adores,  and  loves  his  Father  who  is  in 
heaven.  He  loves  him  because  he  has  given  up  his  whole 
self  to  that  Saviour  who  gave  up  himself  a  ransom  for 
us  all.  He  loves  him  because  the  Spirit  of  G-od  dwells 
in  him,  working  in  him  all  the  fruits  of  righteousness. 
He  loves  him  for  his  penitence  for  sin,  for  his  loving  trust 
in  Christ,  for  his  meekness  under  reproach  and  contumely, 
for  his  forgiveness  of  injuries,  for  his  self-denial  for  the 
good  of  others,  for  his  victories  over  the  world,  and  for  his 
livel}7  hope  of  an  inheritance  that  fadeth  not  away.  It  is 
impossible  that  a  Christian  should  not  love  with  an  over- 
coming and  abiding  affection  the  brother  in  whom  he 
perceives  these  moral  elements.  They  are  found  in  every 
believer  ;  hence  every  renewed  soul  loves  the  whole  family 
of  the  redeemed,  and  the  whole  family  of  the  redeemed 
loves  in  return  every  individual  ;  and  thus  love,  the  per- 
fect bond,  unites  them  all  to  each  other,  and  to  Christ 
who  is  the  head. 

But  yet  more,  our  Saviour  has  taught  us  that  this  love 


76  THE     CHUKCH    A    SOCIETY 

of  the  members  of  his  society  to  each  other  must  trans- 
cend every  other  form  of  affection.  It  was  so  with  him, 
and  it  must  be  so  with  his  disciples.  Whosoever  doeth 
the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my 
brother  and  sister  and  mother.  Our  Lord  enforces  the 
duty  of  loving  our  brethren  more  than  even  our  own  life 
by  his  own  example.  This  is  my  commandment  that  ye 
love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you.  Greater  love  hath 
no  man  than  this  that  a  man  lay  doivn  his  life  for  his 
friends.  The  Apostle  John  urges  the  same  precept,  and 
enforces  it  .by  the  same  motive.  Hereby  perceive  we  the 
love  of  God  because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us  ;  and  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  Herein  is 
love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and 
sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  Be- 
loved, if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one  an- 
other. If  we  love  one  another,  God  dwelleth  in  us,  and 
his  love  is  perfected  in  us.  And  this  commandment  have 
we  from  him,  that  he  who  loveth  God  love  his  brother 
also.  Nor  has  this  truth  proved,  like  too  many  others, 
a  mere  barren  dogma.  Nothing,  in  the  early  ages  of 
Christianity,  so  amazed  the  heathen  as  the  earnest,  self- 
denying  love  which  bound  all  the  disciples  of  Jesus  to 
each  other,  even  to  those  whom  they  had  not  personally 
known.  Nothing  was  more  common  with  them  than 
willingly  to  surfer  death  rather  than  discover  to  their  per- 
secutors the  hiding-places  of  their  brethren.  In  every 
age  of  martyrdom,  this  same  love  has  been  always  appa- 


FOR     THE     CONVERSION     OF     THE     WORLD.      77 

rent.  Christians  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  have,  like 
Priscilla  and  Aquila,  laid  down  their  own  necks  for  their 
brethren.  Such  is  the  love  which  pervades  the  society  of 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  his  conception  of  it. 

Here  then  we  behold  a  society  without  any  organiza- 
tion, bound  together  by  a  stronger  and  more  universal 
tie  than  the  world  ever  conceived  of.  Every  member  is 
obliged,  by  the  terms  of  admission,  to  love  his  brother 
better  than  his  own  life.  He  that  loveth  not  his  brother 
abideth  in  death.  The  same  moral  affections  animate 
every  member.  The  same  hopes  and  fears  agitate  all. 
The  same  God  is  served,  the  same  Saviour  is  loved,  the 
same  world  is  to  be  overcome,  the  same  hell  to  be  es- 
caped, and  the  same  heaven  to  be  gained,  by  every  in- 
dividual. Hence  there  exists  throughout  this  whole  so- 
ciety one  and  the  same  universal  token  of  recognition. 
Whatever  may  be  the  differences  of  their  social  position, 
how  great  soever  the  varieties  of  their  culture,  every  mem- 
ber knows  his  brother  by  a  sign  which  can  not  be  mis- 
taken, and,  knowing,  loves  him  with  a  love  stronger  than 
death.  His  possessions  are  all  held  subject  to  the  call 
of  his  brother's  necessities.  For  whoso  hath  this  world's 
goods,  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up 
his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love 
of  God  in  him  ?  With  his  brethren  he  shares  reproach. 
For  them  he  endures  persecution.  In  every  suffering 
brother  he  beholds  a  representative  of  the  Saviour  who 
died  for  him,  and  hears  a  voice  from  the  excellent  glory 


78  THE'    CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

saying  unto  him,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one 
of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
me. 

But  the  Master  has  commanded  every  one  who  enters 
this  society  publicly  to  confess  him  before  men.  This  is 
most  appropriate.  Before,  he  was  a  servant  of  Satan, 
doing  his  will,  and  yielding  himself  up  in  subjection  to 
the  desires  and  appetites  of  a  heart  at  enmity  with  God. 
He  has  now  changed  his  allegiance  forever.  He  renounces 
without  reserve  the  authority  which  he  formerly  acknowl- 
edged, and  owes  it  no  obedience.  He  has  become  dead 
to  the  world,  and  is  henceforth  alive  unto  God.  It  is 
seemly  that  so  important  a  change  in  all  his  moral  rela- 
tions should  be  announced,  both  to  his  former  and  to  his 
present  associates,  by  some  public  act.  By  the  command 
of  the  Lord  he  is,  therefore,  baptized  into  the  name  of 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  is  bound 
in  baptism  to  show  his  death  to  the  world  ;  he  rises  from 
the  water  to  show  that  he  is  risen  with  Christ,  and  enters 
upon  a  new  and  ever-blessed  life.  By  this  significant  rite 
he  declares  to  the  world  his  change  of  character,  and  the 
establishment  of  new  moral  relations. 

In  thus  confessing  Christ  before  men,  he  unites  himself 
with  some  visible  company  of  believers.  These,  at  the 
present  day  are  divided  into  various  sects,  or  religious  de- 
nominations, differing  from  each  other  commonly  in  mat- 
ters not  essential  to  salvation.  Such  is  the  natural  and 
necessary  result  of  free  discussion,  and  it  will  doubtless 


FOR    THE     CONVERSION    OF     THE    WORLD.      79 

continue  until  we  all  know  the  way  of  the  Lord  more 
perfectty.  He  unites  with  those  whose  views  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ  most  nearly  coincide  with  his  own.  With 
them  he  specially  lahors  in  building  up  the  cause  of 
Christ.  To  them  he  submits  himself,  but  only  as  under 
law  to  the  Master.  In  their  labors  he  shares  a  special 
responsibility.  He  does  this,  not  because  they  are  the 
church  of  Christ,  but,  as  he  believes,  a  true  branch  of  it, 
because  his  lot  has  been  cast  with  them,  and  because 
their  views  and  practice  seem  to  him  most  in  harmony 
with  the  teachings  of  the  Saviour. 

But  while  all  this  is  true,  it  is  never  to  be  forgotten 
that  the  believer  was  a  member  of  Christ's  society  before 
he  ever  united  himself  to  any  community  of  professing 
Christians.  They  acknowledge  him  to  have  been  a  mem- 
ber of  this  society  before  they  received  him  to  their  fel- 
lowship, and  declare  that  this  is  the  only  ground  on  which 
they  had  any  authority  to  receive  him.  They  were  all 
admitted  in  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same  reason. 
Hence  it  is  obvious  that  the  society  which  Christ  has  es- 
tablished, is  the  foundation  of  every  particular  association 
of  brethren  calling  themselves  a  church  of  Christ.  They 
are  in  fact  entitled  to  the  name  of  churches  of  Christ  only 
as  they  are  portions  of  the  general  society  of  renewed 
souls.  The  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  concerning 
the  church  universal  must  control  and  govern  their  ac- 
tion as  separate  associations.  To  elevate  any  separate 
portion  of  the  general  society  into  an  original  authority 


80  THE    CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

to  claim  for  it  a  power  over  the  whole,  to  assume  for  it 
an  authority  to  modify  or  alter,  to  add  to  or  take  from, 
any  of  the  laws  which  Christ  has  enacted  for  the  govern- 
ment of  his  disciples,  is  arrogant  and  impious.  The  be- 
liever was  a  member  of  Christ's  society  before  he  became 
a  member  of  any  church  seen  of  men.  His  union  to 
Christ,  by  which  he  becomes  a  member  of  Christ's  society, 
takes  precedence  immeasurably  of  any  union  which  he 
can  form  with  them.  His  association  with  his  brethren 
has  in  no  respect  changed  his  relations  to  Christ,  or  to 
Christ's  society.  Hence  his  love  to  his  Christian  brethren 
can  not  be  circumscribed  by  denominational  lines,  nor  re- 
stricted by  sectarian  shibboleths.  He  must  embrace  with 
Christian  affection  every  man  in  whom  he  sees  the  image 
of  Christ ;  and  the  fervor  of  his  love  must  be  measured, 
not  by  the  sympathies  of  party,  but  by  the  perfection  in 
which  that  image  is  formed  in  the  soul  of  the  believer. 
He  must  rejoice  in  the  prosperity,  and  sorrow  in  the  ad- 
versity, of  every  Christian  brother  and  every  Christian 
sect.  He  must  pray  without  ceasing  that  grace,  mercy, 
and  peace  may  be  upon  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  ever  bear  in  mind  the  words  of  the  Saviour, 
he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven,  he  is  my 
brother  and  sister  and  mother. 

Such  then  are  the  constituent  elements  of  the  society 
which  Christ  has  established.  Its  members  are  the  re- 
newed in  heart,  the  children  of  the  Lord  Almighty.  They 
are  identical  in  moral  character,  being  all  formed  in  the 


FOR    THE    CONVERSION    OF    THE    WORLD.      81 

likeness  of  Christ.  By  this  likeness  they  recognize  each 
other  amid  all  the  varieties  of  human  condition.  They 
are  united  to  each  other  by  the  perfect  bond  of  universal 
love,  by  a  stronger  and  more  enduring  affection  than  is 
elsewhere  to  be  found  among  men. 

II.  Every  society  must  have  an  object.  What  is 
the  object  for  which  Christ  established  his  society  upon 
earth.  This  question  is  easily  answered  by  observing 
the  relations  which  the  renewed  soul  sustains  to  the  Ke- 
deemer. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  Son  of  God  became  incarnate 
for  the  single  purpose  of  redeeming  the  race  of  man  from 
the  condemnation  of  the  second  death.  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  In  him  we  have  redemption  through  his 
blood,  even  the  remission  of  sins.  When  he  undertook 
this  work,  he  gave  himself  up  wholly  to  it.  He  pressed 
forward  to  the  endurance  of  any  suffering  by  which  it 
could  be  promoted.  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized 
with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  until  it  be  accomplished. 
He  recoiled  from  no  humiliation  that  this  work  demanded. 
He  gave  his  back  to  the  smiters,  and  his  cheeks  to  them 
that  plucked  off  the  hair.  He  hid  not  his  face  from 
shame  and  spitting.  He  became  obedient  to  death,  even 
the  death  of  the  cross.  He  refused  not  at  that  awful 
crisis  to  be  bereft  of  every  friend  on  earth,  and  even  to 

be  forsaken  by  his  Father  in  heaven,  that  thus  he  might 

4* 


82  THE     CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  and  open  the 
door  of  life  to  all  who  believe.  For  this  purpose  he  re- 
appeared on  earth,  he  ascended  to  the  glory  which  he 
ever  had  with  the  Father,  and  there  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  ns.  His  whole  being  as  the 
Messiah,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  was,  without  the 
shadow  of  a  turning,  consecrated  to  the  accomplishment 
of  this  one  purpose.  Never  was  a  life  so  absolutely  unique, 
never  was  every  energy  of  a  being  so  absolutely  swallowed 
up  in  the  effort  to  realize  one  mighty  idea. 

When  a  man  becomes  a  member  of  Christ's  society, 
by  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  has  an  apprehen- 
sion by  faith  of  the  sacrifice  which  Christ  has  made  for 
his  redemption.  The  incarnate  Son  of  God  gave  himself 
up  without  any  reservation  for  him,  and  bore  his  sins  in 
his  own  body  on  the  tree.  What  can  he  do  to  testify  his 
gratitude  for  love  such  as  this  ?  Instinctively  he  surren- 
ders himself,  all  that  he  is,  all  that  he  has.  for  time  and 
for  eternity  to  his  Kedeemer.  He  yields  himself  up  to 
Christ  that  he  may  be  wholly  formed  in  his  likeness.  His 
ambition  henceforth  is  to  obey  every  command  of  Christ, 
and  in  his  humble  manner  do  as  Christ  did,  and  live  as 
Christ  lived.  The  object  for  which  Christ  lived  and  died 
and  rose  again,  is  the  object  for  which  he  lives.  He  has 
become  a  member  of  that  body  of  which  Christ  is  the 
head,  and  the  vitality  which  animates  the  head  animates 
the  remotest  extremity.  Christ  dwells  in  his  heart  by 
faith,  a  soul  within  his  soul,  inciting  him  to  copy  the  ex- 


FOR    THE     CONVERSION    OF    THE    WORLD.      83 

ample  which  he  set  before  us  when  he  was  manifest  in 
the  flesh.  Such  is  the  mold  into  which  the  believer  is 
cast. 

We  have  already  seen  the  object  of  the  life  of  Christ. 
It  was  to  save  the  world  by  reclaiming  it  to  obedience  to 
the  Father.  Such  then  is  the  object  for  which  the  re- 
newed man  lives.  As  Christ  gave  himself  wholly  to  this 
object,  so  the  disciple  gives  up  himself  wholly  to  it.  As 
Christ  made  no  reservation  so  he  makes  none.  If  he  re- 
serves any  thing  which  he  refuses  to  surrender  to  Christ, 
Christ  does  not  admit  him  as  a  member  of  this  society. 
If  any  man  come  to  me  and  hate  not  his  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters, 
yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  can  not  be  my  disciple.  And 
whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  cross  and  come  after  me 
can  not  be  my  disciple.  And  whosoever  he  be  of  you  that 
forsake th  not  all  that  lie  hath,  he  can  not  be  my  disciple. 
The  most  cherished  affections  of  our  nature  must  be 
allowed  to  interpose  no  obstacle  to  our  obedience  to 
Christ.  The  loss  of  everything  earthly  must  be  cheer- 
fully endured,  when  duty  to  him  requires  it.  We  must 
pursue  the  object  for  which  he  lived,  with  a  self-abandon- 
ment akin  to  his,  if  he  would  share  in  his  merits  and  be 
partakers  of  his  glory. 

This  then  is  the  object  for  which  the  individual  be- 
liever lives,  the  subjection  of  the  world  to  Christ.  To 
this  he  has  consecrated  all  that  he  has,  yea,  and  his  own 
life  also.     But,  this  being  the  object  of  every  individual 


84  THE    CHURCH    A    SOCIETY 

member,  it  must  be  the  object  of  the  whole  society.  This 
is  the  purpose  for  which  the  church  was  established,  and 
for  which  it  has  been  continued  on  earth.  Hence  its 
members  are  called  the  salt  of  the  earth.  They  are  the 
leaven  by  which  the  whole  mass  is  leavened.  They  are 
the  candle  lighted  and  set  upon  a  candlestick  that  it  may 
give  light  to  all  that  are  in  the  house.  They  are  the 
medium  of  communication,  through,  which  the  spirit  of 
God  is  sent  to  convert  and  sanctify  men,  the  appointed 
instrument  which  God  employs  in  turning  the  world  unto 
himself. 

This  object  of  the  Christian's  life  has  respect  to  the 
world  within  him,  and  the  world  without  him. 

Though  the  believer  is  renewed  in  his  spirit,  he  is  sanc- 
tified but  in  part.  The  remains  of  corruption  still  linger 
about  him,  and  from  time  to  time  discover  themselves. 
He  has,  however,  declared  eternal  warfare  against  every 
sin,  and  most  of  all  against  the  sin  that  dwelleth  in  him. 
Hence  his  life  is  a  continual  struggle  against  the  evil  in 
his  own  heart,  and  a  striving  after  higher  and  higher 
moral  attainment.  This  work  is  carried  on  in  the  deep 
recesses  of  the  man's  own  consciousness.  But  even  here 
he  may  derive  important  aid  from  his  brethren  of  the 
Christian  society.  They  may  see  faults  which  he  can  not 
see,  they  may  detect  vices  which  he  has  not  discovered. 
By  using  their  spiritual  vision  he  may  thus  be  enabled 
the  better  to  accomplish  the  great  object  of  his  life.  He 
courts  these  smitings  of  the  righteous,  which  are  to  him 


FOB  THE  CONVEKSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   85 

an  excellent  oil ;  and  in  return  his  prayer  is  lifted  up  for 
them  in  their  calamities.  In  time  of  deep  tribulation, 
the  experience  of  his  brethren  will  frequently  direct  his 
eye  to  a  ray  of  hope  which  had  otherwise  been  unobserved. 
When  called  upon  to  bear  reproach  for  Christ,  the  bur- 
den is  alleviated  by  his  brethren  who  hasten  to  share  it 
with  him.  Nor  is  this  all.  In  all  his  prayers  for  himself, 
every  Christian  remembers  every  Christian  brother  on 
earth.  Whatever  good  thing  he  desires  for  himself,  he 
equally  desires  for  every  disciple,  but  most  of  all  he 
prays  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  crowning  mercy  purchased 
by  the  Saviour  for  us,  may  be  shed  abroad  abundantly  on 
every  believer.  Every  member  thus  receives  the  benefit 
of  the  prayers  of  the  whole  society.  Thus,  each  one 
laboring  with  his  might  to  secure  the  highest  moral  attain- 
ment both  for  himself  and  for  all  Christ's  people,  the 
whole  society,  as  lively  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual 
house,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple, to  show  forth  the  praises  of  him  that  hath  called 
them  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light. 

But  the  world  without  is  in  rebellion  against  God,  and 
under  the  condemnation  of  eternal  death.  As  soon  as 
man  is  formed  in  the  likeness  of  Christ,  he  devotes  him- 
self without  reservation  to  the  work  of  its  salvation. 

Were  there  but  one  Christian  on  earth,  he  would  be 
obliged,  from  the  very  elements  of  his  renewed  character, 
to  commence  this  undertaking.  Proclaiming  salvation 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  in  faith  and  love,  the  Holy 


86  THE     CHURCH     A    SOCIETY 

Spirit,  according  to  the  promise  of  the  Father,  would  ac- 
company his  preaching  with  Almighty  power.  Souls 
would  be  converted  ;  and  each  convert  formed  in  the  same 
moral  likeness,  and  devoting  himself  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Master  to  the  same  work,  the  name  of  divine  love  would 
be  communicated  from  heart  to  heart  ;  it  would  spread 
from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood,  from  city  to  city, 
from  nation  to  nation,  until  the  whole  earth  should  be 
filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  Thus  was  it  in  the 
beginning  ;  nor  did  the  progress  of  the  gospel  cease  until 
men  forsook  the  precepts  of  Jesus,  relied  on  an  arm  of 
flesh  instead  of  the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  and  basely 
submitted  to  the  world  which  they  had  already  well  nigh 
overcome. 

But  what  would  be  the  duty  of  a  disciple  of  Christ 
were  he  the  only  disciple  on  earth,  is  clearly  the  duty  of 
every  disciple.  Every  one  is  bound  to  undertake  the 
conversion  of  the  world  to  God.  No  one  of  Christ's  peo- 
ple is  under  stronger  obligations  to  be  like  the  Master 
than  another.  All  are  equally  bound  to  live  and  die  for 
the  object  for  which  he  lived,  and  died,  and  rose  again, 
and  is  now  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  The 
father  and  the  mother  in  the  family  are  to  leave  no  effort 
untried  to  bring  their  children  and  their  whole  household 
to  Christ.  The  mechanic  in  his  shop,  the  merchant  in 
his  warehouse,  the  lawyer  in  his  office,  is  the  candle 
lighted  and  placed  there  upon  a  candlestick,  that  it  may 
give  light  to  all  that  are  in  the  house.     Every  believer  is 


FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   87 

so  to  conduct  his  secular  calling  as  to  render  it  an  instru- 
ment for  extending  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Thus  every 
member  of  this  society,  wherever  his  lot  may  be  cast,  is 
to  be  a  plant  bearing  fruit ;  and  the  fruit  has  the  seed 
within  itself,  from  which  again  a  more  abundant  harvest 
shall  be  sown  and  bear  fruit  until  it  has  covered  the 
whole  earth. 

But  suppose  that  two  or  three  of  the  members  of  this 
society  find  themselves  thrown  together  in  the  midst  of  a 
company  of  those  who  know  not  God.  From  the  very 
principles  of  their  renewed  nature,  they  unite  together 
and  form  the  church  of  Christ  in  this  community.  They 
then  labor  not  only  individually,  but  in  concert  for  the 
advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  They  need  no 
ecclesiastical  organization  to  render  them,  in  all  essential 
respects,  a  church  of  Christ.  They  unite  in  bearing  tes- 
timony for  Jesus,  in  avoiding  the  appearance  of  evil,  in 
shunning  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly,  in  mutual  prayer 
for  the  descent  of  the  Spirit,  and  in  bearing  reproach  for 
the  name  of  their  Lord.  But  besides  this  they  labor 
personally  to  turn  men  from  sin  to  righteousness.  The 
gifts  bestowed  upon  each  are  different  from  those  of  the 
others,  but  all  are  bestowed  by  the  same  Master,  and  all 
are  to  be  used  in  the  same  service.  Each  one  cultivating 
his  own  peculiar  talent,  the  power  of  the  whole  is  in- 
creased by  the  employment  of  all  the  means  which 
Christ  has  consecrated  to  this  work.  No  matter  how  small 
this  company  of  believers  is,  laboring  in  this  manner 


80  THE     CHURCH     A     SOCIETY 

they  may  lay  claim  to  the  promise  of  Christ,  wherever 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am 
I  in  the  midst  of  them. 

Nor  are  we  without  examples  of  just  such  churches  in 
the  records  of  early  Christianity.  The  Apostle  Paul 
frequently  addresses  messages  to  the  church  in  a  particu- 
lar house.  He,  in  this  manner,  alludes  to  the  church  in 
the  house  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla.  These  disciples  were 
tent  makers,  and  the  apostle  had  labored  in  their  work- 
shop when  he  was  in  Corinth.  They  had,  as  we  may 
suppose,  many  other  workmen  in  their  service.  Some  of 
these  were  disciples,  and  the  apostle,  remembering  his 
former  associates  in  labor,  speaks  of  them  as  the  church 
in  that  house.  They  formed,  in  that  company,  a  little 
band  of  loving,  bold,  uncompromising  witnesses  for  Christ. 
They  were  ever  acting,  not  only  individually,  but  in  con- 
cert, for  the  building  up  of  each  other  in  the  faith,  and 
for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  around  them,  and  therefore 
were  they,  with  great  propriety,  designated  the  church 
of  Christ  in  this  Corinthian  tent  manufactory.  My 
brethren,  when  every  manufactory,  every  shop,  every 
warehouse,  every  office,  has  not  merely  its  professors  of 
religion,  but  in  reality  its  church  bearing  witness  for 
God,  then  may  we  say  unto  Zion,  Arise  and  shine,  for 
thy  light  has  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen 
upon  thee. 

When  a  sufficient  number  of  converts  has  been  gath- 
ered in  any  place  they  proceed  to  form  a  society  for  the 


FOE    THE    .CONVERSION     OF    THE    WORLD.      89 

purpose,  of  publicly  holding  forth  the  word  of  life,  and 
maintaining  in  their  original  simplicity  the  ordinances  of 
the  gospel.     Here  they  publicly  covenant  with  each  other 
to  consecrate  themselves  and  all  that  they  possess  to  the 
accomplishment   of  the  object   for   which   Christ   died. 
For  this  they  first  gave  themselves  to  God,  and  then  to 
each  other  by  the  will   of   God.     They  undertake  the 
conversion  of  the  world,  but  specially  that  part  of  it  in 
which  their  lot  has,  by  the  providence  of  God,  been  cast. 
God  has  committed  to  each  one  of  them,  some  talent 
which  he  has  created  for  this  purpose.     The  Christian 
society  finds  occupation  for  all  the  gifts  which  Christ  has 
committed  to  it.     Some  it  sends  into  the  highways  and 
hedges  to  invite  men  to  come  in,  some  it  appoints  to 
converse  at  their  houses  with  the  poor  and  neglected, 
some  to  minister  to  the  sick  and  afflicted,  some  who  are 
endowed  with  the  gift  of  utterance  to  preach  the  gospel 
in  the  destitute  neighborhood  around  them.      All  are 
diligently  engaged  in  promoting  the  work  to  which  each 
one  has  individually  consecrated  himself.     The  poor  give 
their  service,  the   rich   their  service   and  their  wealth. 
Their  object  is  to  fill  that  neighborhood,  that  town,  that 
city,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord.      Every  convert 
increases  their  power  and  adds  one  to  the  number  of 
their  laborers.      Every  new  station  furnishes  an  addi- 
tional centre  for  the  diffusion  of  moral  light.    Advancing 
thus  with  accumulating  power,  and  ever  relying  on  the 
soul  renewing  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  cannot  cease 


90  THE     CHURCH     A     SOCIETY 

from  their  work  until  they  have  dried  up  every  fountain 
of  iniquity  within  their  borders,  and  the  place  in  which 
they  reside  has  become  a  mountain  of  holiness,  the 
dwelling  place  of  righteousness. 

Nor  even  then  can  it  cease.  There  yet  remain  regions 
beyond,  unblessed  by  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  The  all-consuming  love  of  souls  which  burns  in 
the  bosom  of  Christ's  people,  finding  no  place  of  labor  in 
its  own  vicinity,  will  yearn  to  carry  the  good  news  of 
salvation  where  Christ  has  not  been  named.  The  mer- 
chant and  the  mechanic,  instead  of  wandering  abroad  in 
search  of  some  new  California,  inquire  only,  Where  can  I 
pursue  my  avocation  with  the  greatest  service  to  the 
cause  of  Christ  ?  If  Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  believed 
that  they  could  more  efficiently  serve  Christ  in  Rome 
than  in  Corinth,  do  you  suppose  that  any  prospect  of 
gain  would  have  prevented  their  removal  ?  The  student 
employs  his  learning  in  scattering  abroad  among  bar- 
barian nations  the  word  of  everlasting  truth.  The  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  turning  away  from  regions  filled  to 
repletion  with  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  seeks  his  field 
of  labor  among  those  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  vision. 
Every  people,  every  Christian  sect,  sends  forth  its  labor- 
ers, of  all  occupations,  to  turn  the  heathen  to  righteous- 
ness. Nor  will  this  labor  cease  until  the  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  and  the  kingdom 
and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom,  under  the  whole  hea- 
ven, be  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High. 


FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.  91 

Have   I,  in  these   remarks,   in   aught   exaggerated  ? 
Have  I  not  described  the  society  of  Jesus  Christ  as  he 
himself  coaceived  of  it,  and  as  he  himself  established  it  ? 
If  we  would  form  an  accurate  opinion  on  this  subject,  let 
us  take  an  example  from  the  company  of  his  early  dis- 
ciples, who  acted  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the 
ever-blessed   Spirit.     We   will  take,   for  instance,   the 
Apostle  Paul,  whose  life  is  better  known  to  us  than  that 
of  any  of  his  brethren.     How  did  he  enter  the  society  of 
Christ  ?     Was  it  not  by  as  complete  and  radical  a  change 
of  moral  character  as  we  can  possibly  imagine  ?     Did  he 
not  surrender  himself  without  the  shadow  of  a  reservation 
to  him  who  had  loved  him  and  given  himself  for  him  ? 
Was  not  his  whole  soul  poured  out  in  love  to  his  breth- 
ren, so  that  he  was  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  for 
them,  though  the  more  he  loved  them  the  less  he  was 
loved  ?     Was  not  the  inner  life  of  his  soul  consumed  in 
the  agonizing  struggle  after  likeness  to  Christ,  keeping 
under  his  body  and  bringing  it  into  subjection,  counting 
all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  his  Lord,  forgetting  the  things  which  were 
behind,  and  reaching  forward  to  those  things  which  were 
before,  pressing  toward  the    mark  for  the  prize  of  the 
high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  ?     And  in  this  labor 
for  Christian  perfection,  do  we  not  behold  him  in  every 
one  of  his  epistles  calling  upon  his  brethren  to  aid  him  by 
their  prayers,  while  he  declares  that  without  ceasing  he 
daily  remembers  them  in  all  his  supplications  ?     Of  his 


92  THE     CHURCH.  A    SOCIETY 

efforts  to  extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ  why  should  I 
speak  ?  His  whole  life  was  a  succession  of  missionary 
tours,  except  when  his  plans  were  interrupted  by  bonds 
and  imprisonment.  Asia  Minor  was  his  first  missionary 
field.  When  he  had  established  churches  in  every  impor- 
tant city  on  the  sea-board  of  that  populous  region,  he 
entered  Europe,  and  in  various  cities  of  Macedonia,  in 
Athens  and  in  Corinth,  he  labored  abundantly.  Then, 
extending  his  field  yet  more  widely,  he  projected  a  mis- 
sion to  Spain,  and  was  only  interrupted  in  his  design  by 
his  imprisonment  in  Kome.  But  even  here  he  ceased  not 
from  his  labors.  '  His  bonds  in  Christ  were  manifest  in  all 
the  palace  and  in  all  other  places  ;  and  hence  were  sent 
to  the  churches  those  immortal  letters,  the  precious  her- 
itage of  the  believer  until  the  end  of  time.  If  the  greatest 
of  our  missionary  organizations,  uniting  the  efforts  of 
half  a  million  of  professed  believers,  had  accomplished 
as  great  results  as  these,  we  should  look  upon  it  as  mar- 
vellous success.  And  yet  this  man  was  feeble  in  health, 
weighed  down  by  a  distressing  physical  infirmity,  and 
knowing  that  wherever  he  went,  bonds  and  imprisonment 
awaited  him.  In  one  case,  in  vindication  of  his  own 
character,  he  sums  up  in  these  words  the  circumstances 
under  which  his  life  had  been  spent  from  the  moment  in 
which  he  united  himself  to  the  society  of  Christ.  In  la- 
bors more  abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons 
more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five  times 
received  I  forty  stripes  save  one,  thrice  was  I  beaten  with 


FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   93 

rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a 
night  and  a  day  have  I  been  in  the  deep.  In  journeyings 
often,  in  perils  of  water,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by 
my  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in 
the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea, 
in  perils  among  false  brethren,  in  weariness  and  painfull- 
ness, in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings 
often,  in  cold  and  nakedness,  beside  those  things  which 
are  without,  that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care 
of  all  the  churches.  It  was  in  this  manner  that  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  behaved  himself  as  a  member  of  the  society  of 
Christ,  the  church  of  the  living  God.  Did  he  over-esti- 
mate his  obligations  ?  Was  he  either  a  fool  or  a  fanatic  ? 
Then  I  have  in  no  manner  over-stated  the  obligations  rest- 
ing upon 'every  disciple  of  Christ. 

III.  I  come  in  the  third  place  to  speak  briefly  of  the 
laws  by  which  this  society  is  governed. 

The  laws  of  the  society  of  Christ  control  the  con- 
science. They  can  not  therefore  be  made  by  man.  They 
originate  with  the  Master,  to  whom  every  member  has 
voluntarily  submitted  himself.  They  have  respect  mainly 
to  the  qualifications  of  membership,  and  to  the  duties 
which  the  Master  imposes  upon  the  members.  They  are 
found  in  the  New  Testament,  and  consist  of  the  precepts 
which  have  been  committed  to  us  by  Christ  and  his 
apostles. 

The  laws  of  the  Christian  society  have  been  made  by 
the  Master,  and,  as  I  have  said,  can  be  made  by  no  other 


94  .      THE    CHUKCH    A    SOCIETY 

authority.  Should  all  the  disciples  of  Christ  on  earth 
be  at  any  one  time  assembled,  they  would  be  utterly 
powerless  to  add  to,  or  take  from,  to  alter,  or  modify,  a 
single  law  enacted  by  Jesus  Christ.  The  decisions  of 
councils,  or  popes,  or  bishops,  or  synods,  or  assemblies, 
or  conventions,  or  associations,  can  impose  no  obligation 
upon  any  disciple  of  Christ.  If  what  they  enact  was 
before  enacted  by  Christ,  their  re-enacting  of  it  is  nuga- 
tory. If  it  were  not  enacted  by  Christ,  it  is  an  assump- 
tion of  his  jurisdiction.  One  is  our  Master,  even  Christ, 
and  all  we  are  brethren. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  Who  shall  interpret  for  us  the 
precepts  of  Christ  ?  We  answer,  Christ  has  appointed 
no  interpreter.  He  has  told  us  that  every  one  must  give 
account  for  himself  unto  God.  The  New  Testament  is  a 
message  from  God  to  every  individual,  and  every  indi- 
vidual, seeking  the  truth  in  humility  and  prayer,  is  an 
interpreter  unto  himself.  He  must,  in  the  fear  of  God, 
learn  from  the  written  revelation  what  God  requires  of 
him,  and,  so  seeking,  he  will  be  taught  all  necessary 
truth. 

But  will  there  not  arise  from  hence  great  diversities  of 
opinion  ?  If  men  seek  with  a  right  spirit,  I  answer,  not 
in  things  essential  to  salvation.  But,  were  it  otherwise, 
would  these  diversities  be  lessened  by  submitting  our 
conscience  and  intellect  to  any  other  interpreters  ?  These 
are  as  liable  to  err  as  ourselves,  and,  as  each  one  of  us  is 
to  give   account  for  himself,  it  is  reasonable  that  each 


FOR     THE     CONVERSION    OF    THE    WORLD.      95 

should,  for  himself,  learn  from  the  written  message  what 
God  has  required  of  him. 

Supposing,  however,  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the 
teachings  of  Christ  to  exist.  Each  disciple  unites  with 
those  whose  belief  is  most  nearly  coincident  with  his 
own.  With  these  he  labors  more  especially,  and  for  their 
progress  as  disciples  of  Christ,  he  is  more  directly  re- 
sponsible. But  this,  as  I  have  said,  changes  in  no 
respect  his  relation  to  the  whole  body  of  believers.  He 
is  most  of  all  a  member  of  the  society  of  Christ,  belong- 
ing to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first  born. 
Yet  having  united  with  them  in  visible  fellowship,  he  has 
placed  himself  specially  under  their  jurisdiction,  and  is 
amenable  to  their  authority,  in  respect  to  all  things  which 
he  and  they  believe  Christ  to  have  commanded.  They 
have  no  legislative  power.  They  may  enforce  obedience 
to  the  commands  of  Christ  on  every  one  of  their  mem- 
bers. This  they  are  obliged  to  do  as  servants  of  Christ, 
this  they  must  do,  or  the  distinctive  character  of  Christ's 
society  would  in  a  few  years  disappear.  And  these  laws 
must  be  enforced  upon  all,  without  respect  of  persons. 
To  them,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  wise  and  the  unwise, 
the  powerful  and  the  powerless,  are  equally  amenable. 

The  society  of  Christ  has  but  one  means  of  enforcing 
the  commands  of  the  Master.  It  has  no  physical  penal- 
ties to  inflict.  It  can  punish  the  disobedient  neither  by 
fine,  nor  imprisonment,  nor  exile,  nor  the  scaffold,  nor 
the  stake.     All  that  it  can  do,  is  simply  to  withdraw 


96  THE     CHURCH    A     SOCIETY 

itself  from  every  brother  that  walketh  disorderly.  He 
joined  the  society  as  a  renewed  man,  who  submitted 
himself  without  reserve  to  the  .authority  of  Christ. 
When  his  conduct  renders  it  evident  that  he  is  unre- 
newed, and  that  the  word  of  Christ  has  no  control  over 
him,  his  brethren  withdraw  from  him,  and  return  him 
again  to  the  world  to  which  he  belongs.  Thus  far  they 
may  go.  Beyond  this,  they  have  received  from  the 
Master  not  a  shadow  of  authority,  and  to  assume  it  is  an 
atrocious  invasion  of  the  dearest  rights  of  humanity. 

Such  do  I  suppose  to  be  the  conception  of  the  church 
of  Christ  as  he  has  revealed  it  to  us  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. How  a  man  should  behave  himself  in  it,  has 
been  manifest  as  we  have  proceeded.  I  will,  therefore, 
close  this  discourse  with  a  few  suggestions  which  press 
themselves  upon  us  as  we  reflect  upon  the  ground  which 
we  have  passed  over. 

1.  If  such  be  the  scriptural  idea  of  the  church  of 
Christ,  we  may  reasonably  inquire  where  such  churches 
are  to  be  found.  There  exist  vast  corporations^  of  incal- 
culable wealth  and  terrific  power,  each  claiming  to  be 
not  only  a  church,  but  the  church  of  Christ,  though 
founded  upon  principles  diametrically  opposed  to  those 
on  which  Christ  has  established  his  society.  Can  these 
be  churches  of  Christ  ?  Have  they  a  single  mark  which 
can  designate  them  as  his  people  ?  Of  the  associa- 
tions, called  at  the  present  day  churches  of  Christ,  just 
so  many  are  portions  of  Christ's  society  as  obey  the  laws, 


FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   97 

and  imitate  the  examples  which  have  been  left  to  us  in 
the  New  Testament.  I  speak  not  here  of  individuals. 
A  holy  man  may  be  a  visible  member  of  an  unholy 
church.  It  is  not  given  us  to  know  how  much  error  may 
co-exist  with  piety.  While,  therefore,  we  hope  and  be- 
lieve that  even  in  the  most  corrupt  churches,  there  are 
reserved  many  thousands  who  worship  God  in  spirit,  it 
yet  seems  evident  that  nothing  can  be  in  reality  a  church 
of  Christ,  which  does  not  practically  realize  the  idea  of  a 
church  left  us  by  Christ  and  his  apostles. 

2.  It  has  frequently  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the 
religion  of  Christ  has  made  so  little  progress,  and  that, 
after  eighteen  centuries,  so  small  a  portion  of  mankind 
has  acknowledged  his  authority.  To  abate  our  surprise 
at  this  acknowledged  fact,  we  may  ask  whether  we  can 
conceive  of  any  means  better  adapted  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  purpose,  than  the  society  which  Christ  has 
established.  We  may  also  point  to  the  historical  fact, 
that  whenever  any  portion  of  his  professed  disciples  have 
practically  realized  our  Lord's  idea  of  a  church,  their 
moral  power  has  always  been  irresistible.  The  promise 
of  Christ  that  the  kingdom  should  be  given  to  the 
little  flock,  was  only  made  to  his  flock,  the  church  built 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  he 
himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone.  He  never  promised 
the  moral  conquest  of  the  world  to  everything  that  might 
be  called  by  his  name.  The  power  of  his  church  resides 
in  the  elements  which  he  has  incorporated  into  its  very 

5 


98  THE     CHURCH     A    SOCIETY 

essence.  Remove  these,  and  it  is  shorn  of  its  strength, 
for  the  Lord  has  departed  from  it.  Christ  promised  the 
victory  over  the  world  only  to  the  society  which  he  estab- 
lished. If  we  have  changed  it  into  another,  and  instead 
of  a  spiritual  society,  made  it,  in  various  degrees,  a  secu- 
lar corporation,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  promise  of 
Christ  yet  remains  unfulfilled.  And  it  will  remain  un- 
fulfilled until  the  church  assumes  again  the  character 
which  it  received  from  Christ.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
will  its  righteousness  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  its  sal- 
vation as  a  lamp  that  burneth. 

3.  If  such  be  the  case,  "Brethren,  what  is  to  done  ?  Is 
Christ's  idea  of  a  church  such  as  I  have  attempted  to 
delineate  ?  Can  we  then  hope  to  subdue  the  world  to 
Christ,  nay,  can  we  hope  to  save  our  own  souls,  unless  we 
be  practically  conformed  to  it  ?  Have  we,  who  profess  to 
belong  to  Christ,  the  evidence  in  our  own  consciousness, 
that  we  are  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  minds  ?  Have 
we  given  up  ourselves  wholly  to  Christ,  in  return  for  the 
gift  of  himself  for  us  ?  Is  our  affection  for  our  Christian 
brethren  paramount  to  the  ties  of  sect,  or  party,  or  social 
position,  nay,  to  the  love  of  life  itself?  Are  we  using 
every  talent  we  possess  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  seeking 
first  of  all  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  Are  we,  as  churches  of 
Jesus  Christ,  practically  acknowledging  the  conversion  of 
the  world  to  be  the  great  object  for  which  we  are  asso- 
ciated, and  are  we  laboring  to  accomplish  this  object, 


FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD.   99 

striving  according  to  the  working  that  worketh  in  us 
mightily  ?  If  we  can  not  answer  these  questions  affirma- 
tively, we  have  either  left  our  first  love,  or  we  have  the 
name  to  live,  while  we  are  dead.  Let  us  try  our  ways 
and  turn  again  to  the  Lord.  It  is  very  possible  for  us  to 
profess  the  name  of  Christ,  and  yet  to  be,  in  fact,  the 
greatest  obstacles  to  the  progress  of  his  kingdom.  If 
ever  the  condition  of  the  world  demanded  a  living  and 
not  a  dead  church,  it  demands  it  at  this  very  moment. 
Our  own  country,  in  an  especial  manner,  demands  it. 
Iniquity  abounds.  Our  cities  and  towns  are  becoming 
sinks  Of  moral  pollution.  The  want  of  principle  in  our 
public  men  is  periling  the  very  existence  of  our  republic. 
And  while  this  is  becoming  more  alarming,  there  seems 
no  moral  power  existing  to  arrest  those  tendencies  which 
are  becoming  every  year  more  and  more  alarming.  And 
there  is  no  moral  power  in  the  people,  because  the  church 
of  Christ  is  faithless  to  her  trust ;  and  men  professing 
godliness  love  luxury,  and  power,  and  party,  better  than 
Christ.  Is  it  not  time  then  for  the  children  of  God  to 
come  out  from  the  world  and  be  separate,  and  put  away 
from  them  every  unclean  thing  ?  Unless  this  be  done,  I 
see  nothing  to  prevent  us  from  perishing  in  one  common 
ruin.  But  it  is  possible  that  we  have  not  yet  wearied 
out  the  forbearance  of  God.  There  may  yet  remain  a 
blessing  in  store  for  us  if  we  repent  of  our  sins  and  turn 
again  to  the  Lord.     Let  this  then  be  our  first  work.     Let 


100  THE    CHURCH    A    SOCIETY. 

us  begin  with  our  own  hearts.  Let  us  cany  the  princi- 
ples of  the  gospel  in  practice  in  all  our  churches.  Let  us 
consecrate  ourselves  and  all  our  possessions  to  the  Saviour, 
and  prove  him  now  herewith,  if  he  will  not  open  to  us 
the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pjour  us  out  a  blessing  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it.     Amen. 


SERMON    III. 

CHRISTIAN      WORSHIP. 

"Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them. — Matthew,  xviii.  20. 

To  a  being  endowed  with  the  intellectual  and  moral 
faculties  of  man,  the  idea  of  a  supernatural  power  arises 
almost  by  necessity.  To  him,  the  heavens  declare  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  forth  his  handy 
work.  He  no  sooner  begins  to  reflect,  than  he  perceives 
that  he  has  been  placed  in  a  world  which  he  did  not 
create,  which  he  can  not  govern,  and  from  which,  without 
any  respect  to  his  own  volitions,  he  will  inexorably  be  re- 
called. Above  him,  beneath  him,  and  within  him,  a  sys- 
tem is  carried  forward  which  he  did  not  originate,  which 
he  can  not  change,  but  which  everywhere  indicates  the 
existence  of  infinite  power,  unsearchable  wisdom,  and 
ever-unfolding  goodness.  Whatever  it  is  that  possesses 
these  attributes,  how  feebly  soever  he  may  conceive  of 
them,  assumes  to  him  the  character  of  Deity.  His  con- 
ception may  be  obscure,  imperfect,  erroneous,  or  absurd, 
but  it  is  formed  in  obedience  to  the  primitive  impulses  of 
his  intellectual  and  moral  nature ;  and,  even  in  its  very 
lowest  form  is  incomparably  more  reasonable  than  the 


102  CHRISTAN    WORSHIP. 

denial  of  the  existence  of  a  Creator.     The  fool  hath  said 
in  his  heart  there  is  no  God. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  belief  in  a  Deity  necessitates 
the  idea  of  adoration,  supplication,  thanksgiving.  To 
the  thoughtful  man,  as  he  surveys  the  boundless  glories 
of  creation,  and  meditates  on  the  attributes  of  their  Au- 
thor, the  sentiments  of  humility  and  devotion  present 
themselves  spontaneously.  When  I  consider  the  heavens, 
the  work  of  thy  fingers,  the  moon  and  the  stars  which 
thou  hast  ordained,  saith  David,  what  is  man  that  thou 
art  mindful  of  him,  or  the  son  of  man  that  thou  visitest 
him  ?  0  Lord  our  God,  how  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all 
the  earth.  The  thought  of  God  first  prostrated  the  soul 
of  the  king  of  Israel  in  self-abasement,  and  then  inspired 
it  with  sublime  and  exulting  adoration. 

But  it  is  not  alone  in  minds  of  deep  moral  sensibility 
and  refined  intellectual  culture,  that  the  idea  of  a  Deity 
awakens  becoming  emotions.  The  wintry  tempest,  as  it 
walks  forth  in  majesty,  teaches  the  soul  even  of  the  rude 
savage  to  bow  in  submission  before  a  power  which  he  can 
not  resist,  and  which  it  is  meet  that  he  should  propitiate. 
Spring  with  its  reviving  loveliness,  and  autumn  with  its 
overflowing  bounty  can  scarcely  be  contemplated,  without 
awakening  an  emotion  of  thankfulness  in  the  bosom  of 
the  most  obdurate.  The  endless  vicissitudes  of  joy  and 
sorrow,  of  blessing  and  bereavement,  of  danger  and  de- 
liverance, as  they  must  occur  in  the  personal  history  of 
every  individual,  teach  the  same  lesson  ;  and,  with  dif- 


CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP.  103 

ferent  degrees  of  distinctness,  that  lesson  is  learned  by 
every  human  being  who  has  arrived  at  the  condition  of 
earnest  thought. 

Hence  have  arisen  the  various  forms  of  religion  which 
have  prevailed  among  men.  Notwithstanding  their  end- 
less diversity,  their  universality  proves  that  they  spring 
from  the  instinctive  impulses  of  our  common  nature. 
Hence  when  we  hear  of  a  newly  discovered  tribe  or  peo- 
ple, we  as  naturally  inquire  respecting  their  religion,  as 
respecting  their  social  or  domestic  habits.  Go  where  we 
will,  we  observe  on  every  side  traces  of  the  acknowledg-. 
ment  of  a  supernatural  power,  and  of  the  relations  which 
are  sustained  to  that  power  by  us,  the  children  of  yester- 
day. 

But  man,  beside  being  a  religious,  is  also  a  social  being. 
He  delights  in  the  united  expression  of  a  common  senti- 
ment, and  the  common  manifestation  of  the  same  emo- 
tion. The  sentiments  and  emotions  of  religion  are 
awakened  by  changes  which  equally  affect  the  whole 
community.  God  causes  his  sun  to  shine  on  the  evil 
and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
the  unjust.  A  whole  nation  trembles  at  t^e  prospect  of 
famine,  or  rejoices  in  the  abundance  of  harvest.  Every 
living  thing  is  aroused  from  slumber  by  the  rising  sun, 
and  is  soothed  to  rest  beneath  the  curtain  of  darkness. 
That  all  should  unite  in  deprecating  the  wrath  of  the 
Being  whose  power  we  know  to  be  irresistible,  and  in 
giving  thanks  to  him  whom  we  believe  to  be  the  Giver 


104  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

of  all  good,  is  one  of  the  first  dictates  of  our  nature. 
Hence  the  culture  of  religion  is  so  universally  a  public 
concern,  and  has  been  so  commonly,  though  so  incorrectly, 
placed  under  the  guardianship  of  the  State.  Men  unite 
together  in  acts  of  worship  as  they  unite  in  public  rejoic- 
ing or  lamentation,  and  they  meet  together  when  they 
perform  a  religious  service,  just  as  they  meet  to  declare 
war  or  accept  conditions  of  peace,  to  elect  a  ruler  or  de- 
throne a  despot. 

But,  in  the  early  ages  of  humanity,  men,  like  children, 
think  more  readily  through  the  medium  of  visible  objects. 
Hence  the  idea  of  God  is  soon  transferred  to  some  repre- 
sentation of  the  Deity  which  can  be  seen  and  felt.  Thus 
arose  all  the  multiplied  forms  of  heathen  idolatry.  Each 
nation  forming  its  own  conception  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
embodied  that  conception  in  some  material  image.  Then 
again,  the  notion  of  the  Deity  became  divided  and  sub- 
divided, as  some  distinct  supernatural  being  was  sup- 
posed to  govern  some  peculiar  department  of  the  visible 
creation.  Thus  every  nation  and  tribe  and  city  had  its 
own  appropriate  gods  to  whom  it  specially  looked  for 
succor  in  calamity,  and  whom  it  adored  as  the  authors  of 
every  deliverance.  Not  only  every  trade  and  occupation, 
but  every  individual  had  his  supernatural  friend,  god, 
demi-god,  or  deified  hero,  to  whom  his  special  service 
was  due,  and  who  was  to  him,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  the 
giver  of  all  good. 

It  thus  followed  that  a  mutual  intercourse  was  sup- 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  105 

posed  to  be  established  between  the  gods  and  men.  The 
gods  bestowed  favors,  and  men  made  to  them  offerings 
of  the  things  in  which  they  specially  delighted.  The  gods 
were  present,  either  by  representation  or  in  person,  and 
they  received  the  sacrifices  which  the  worshiper  pre- 
sented. But  the  common  people  were  not  worthy  them- 
selves to  present  their  offering  to  the  gods.  Hence  a 
caste,  selected  from  the  people,  or  holding  their  office  by 
hereditary  descent,  was  chosen  by  the  god  to  mediate 
between  him  and  men.  And  again,  since  the  gods  were 
personally  present,  they  must  have  a  place  of  abode.  At 
first  the  most  beautiful  and  picturesque  spots  on  earth 
were  consecrated  to  their  service.  Thus,  in  Greece,  the 
lofty  hill-top  as  it  first  received  the  rays  of  Apollo,  the 
smiling  valley  bearing  on  its  bosom  the  rich  gifts  of  Ceres, 
the  solemn  forest  as  it  whispered  the  praises  of  Jove,  nay, 
every  sparkling  fountain,  every  mysterious  cavern,  every 
loud  resounding  beach,  had  each  its  presiding  divinity. 
As  wealth  increased,  men  began  to  adorn  and  beautify 
their  private  residences.  The  deity  must  also  have  his 
appropriate  dwelling-place.  His  house  was  the  temple. 
This  was  his  chosen  abode  where,  by  his  own  appointment, 
he  could  be  most  acceptably  worshiped.  Hence  he  scat- 
tered blessings  upon  his  friends,  and  hence  he  launched  his 
thunderbolts  upon  his  enemies.  The  splendor  of  the 
temple  of  the  deity  was  the  measure  of  the  devotion  of 
his  worshipers.  Hence  the  wealth  of  provinces  was  not 
unfrequently  exhausted  in  providing  a  suitable  edifice  for 

5* 


106  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

the  abode  of  the  god.  All  that  geDius  could  conceive,  or 
art  elaborate,  was  poured  out  in  profusion  in  honor  of  the 
patron  deity.  Hence  arose  those  stupendous  structures 
in  India  and  Egypt,  and  those  magnificent  temples  in 
Greece  and  Italy,  the  ruins  of  which  can  not  now  be 
viewed  without  the  profoundest  emotions  of  grandeur  and 
astonishment.  The  civilized  world  was  dotted  thickly 
with  edifices  and  shrines,  in  comparison  with  which  all 
that  the  Christian  religion  has  ever  done  in  the  erection 
of  forms  of  beauty  and  sublimity,  dwindles  into  insignifi- 
cance. 

Of  the  moral  results  of  the  heathen  temple  worship  it 
is  not  my  purpose  here  to  speak.  These  may  be  best  un- 
derstood from  the  character  of  paganism  delineated  in 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Komans.  One  or 
two  general  observations,  however,  thrust  themselves  upon 
our  attention. 

In  the  first  place,  we  observe  that  it  all  proceeded 
upon  the  belief  of  lioly  places,  that  is,  of  peculiar  locali- 
ties made  holy  by  the  actual  presence  of  the  god.  In  the 
temple  consecrated  to  his  honor  the  deity  personally 
dwelt,  and  dwelt  more  emphatically  in  proportion  to  the 
splendor  of  his  abode.  Thus  the  temple  of  Juno  at 
Carthage,  of  Minerva  at  Athens,  and  of  Jupiter  at  Kome, 
were  supposed  to  be  the  places  at  which  these  deities 
were,  in  an  eminent  degree,  propitious. 

In  the  second  place,  we  perceive  that  this  heathen 
worship  proceeded  upon  the  belief  not  only  of  holy  places, 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  107 

but  also  of  holy  persons.  The  common  herd  of  worship- 
ers were  considered  unworthy  to  approach  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  deity.  He  must  have  servants  of  his  own 
selection,  to  negotiate  between  him  and  men,  and  these 
alone  were  admitted  into  his  immediate  presence.  Hence, 
every  temple  was  surrounded  by  a  retinue  of  priests  who 
officiated  as  the  sole  ministers  in  holy  things.  They  were 
under  the  especial  protection  of  the  god  whom  they  served, 
and  an  injury  to  them  was  an  insult  to  him,  to  be  pun- 
ished with  bloodshed  and  pestilence,  and  to  be  atoned 
for  only  by  hecatombs  of  offerings.  The  priest  alone  ad- 
mitted the  worshiper  to  intercourse  with  the  deity.  He 
presented  the  petition,  he  offered  the  victim,  and  he  fat- 
tened on  the  oblation. 

Hence,  in  the  third  place,  you  see  that  the  heathen  tem- 
ple was  never  an  audience  room  in  which  a  congregation 
assembled.  It  was  merely  the  palace  of  the  god,  where, 
shrouded  in  darkness,  he  held  his  court,  surrounded  by 
his  retinue  of  waiting  ministers.  The  people,  at  humbler 
distance,  might  surround  the  shrine  ;  but  no  one  except 
a  priest  dared  to  enter  it  on  penalty  of  death.  This 
honor  was  reserved  for  the  priesthood  alone,  and  it  was 
granted  to  them  only  on  occasions  of  peculiar  solemnity. 
The  place  was  holy,  and  none  but  those  whose  holiness 
the  god  had  himself  recognized,  were  admitted  to  hold 
personal  interviews  with  the  being  who  condescended  to 
dwell  with  men. 

If  now  we  turn  to  the  Hebrew  ritual,  we  observe  that 


108  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

it  was  established  on  similar  principles.  God,  in  the 
manifestation  of  himself  to  man,  has  always  in  great  con- 
descension, accommodated  himself  to  the  condition  of 
humanity.  The  Hebrews,  just  emancipated  from  the 
slavery  of  Egypt,  were  a  rude  people,  and  like  any  other 
rude  people  were  more  readily  impressed  by  an  appeal  to 
the  senses.  The  worship  which  God  ordained  was  there- 
fore adapted  to  minds  unaccustomed  to  reflect  upon  the 
spiritual  and  invisible  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  to  those 
who  looked  upon  it  aright,  it  shadowed  forth  the  glories 
of  the  coming  dispensation. 

The  Hebrew  ritual  was  established  on  the  principle  of 
holiness  of  places,  that  is,  of  places  in  which  God  abode, 
and  where  he  was  most  acceptably  worshiped.  God,  as 
their  Theocratic  King,  dwelt  among  the  children  of 
Israel.  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  a  place  be  prepared 
for  his  residence.  The  people  were  dwelling  in  tents,  and 
he  directed  that  a  tabernacle,  of  surpassing  magnificence, 
should  be  constructed  for  the  place  of  his  rest.  The 
directions  for  the  material,  the  form,  and  the  furniture  of 
this  tabernacle,  were  with  the  most  minute  speciality 
dictated  by  Jehovah  himself.  When  it  wras  finished 
according  to  the  pattern  showed  to  Moses  in  the  Mount, 
when  the  ark  of  the  covenant  overshadowed  by  cherubim 
was  deposited  in  its  place,  when  every  thing  had  been 
made  ready  for  the  Divine  Occupant,  then  did  God,  by 
a  visible  manifestation,  come  down  and  take  possession 
of  his  abode.     Thus  we  are  informed  by  the  inspired 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  109 

historian,  that  then  a  cloud  covered  the  tent  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  taber- 
nacle ;  and  Moses  himself  was  not  able  to  enter  the  tent 
of  the  congregation  because  the  cloud  abode  thereon. 
And  when  the  cloud  was  taken  up  from  over  the  taber- 
nacle, the  children  of  Israel  went  onward  in  their 
journeys,  but  if  the  cloud  were  not  taken  up,  then  they 
journeyed  not  till  the  day  that  it  was  taken  up.  For 
the  cloud  of  the  Lord  was  upon  the  tabernacle  by  day  ; 
fire  was  over  it  by  night,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  house  of 
Israel  throughout  all  their  journeys.  Here  then  was  the 
visible  dwelling  place  of  Jehovah.  Here  above  all  other 
places  on  earth  was  he  to  be  acceptably  worshiped. 
Here  in  distinction  from  every  other  spot  falsely  es- 
teemed holy,  might  men  come  and  bow  down  in  adoration 
before  God,  the  Creator,  the  Euler  and  the  Upholder 
of  all.      . 

But  if  God  held  his  court  on  earth,  he  must  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  retinue  of  his  own  appointed  servants. 
He  therefore  chose  the  family  of  Aaron  as  the  officers,  if 
I  may  so  say,  of  his  household,  whose  duty  it  was  to  wait 
upon  him,  and  mediate  between  him  and  the  people. 
They  alone  could  perform  the  solemn  service  of  his 
house,  but  even  of  their  number,  one  only  could,  as 
High  Priest,  approach  into  his  immediate  presence  ;  and 
he  was  not  allowed  to  draw  near  to  God  unless  on  the 
day  of  solemn  expiation.  But  the  service  was  too 
onerous  to  be  discharged  by  a  single  family.     The  whole 


110  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

tribe  of  Levi  was  set  apart  to  aid  in  the  labor  which 
pertained  to  the  ordinances  of  the  Hebrew  ceremonial. 
The  ritual  was  so  burdensome  that  one  man  in  twelve  of 
the  whole  nation,  was  required  to  perform  the  religious 
duties  commanded  by  the  Mosaic  law. 

It  moreover  pleased  God  to  give  the  most  minute 
directions  concerning  every  part  of  this  ritual.  The 
purity  of  the  blood  of  both  priests  and  levites,  the  man- 
ner of  inducting  them  into  office,  their  dress  and  manner 
of  life,  their  food,  and  their  social  and  domestic  habits 
were  all  accurately  and  specifically  ordained.  It  was 
meet  that  it  should  be  so.  If  the  Holy  One  had  taken 
up  his  residence  with  sinful  men,  it  was  appropriate  that 
those  who  ministered  to  him  should  be  separated  from 
their  brethren,  and  thus  escape  the  defilement  of  inter- 
course with  the  ungodly.  They  alone  mediated  between 
man  and  his  Maker.  Through  them  alone  could  the  pious 
Israelite  draw  near  into  the  presence  of  Jehovah.  He 
dared  not,  on  pain  of  death,  enter  the  Holy  Place,  but 
the  high  priest  in  his  name  appeared  before  God,  and  he 
felt  assured  that  he  had  thus  approached  as  near  to  the 
Most  High  as  was  permitted  even  to  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham his  friend. 

Thus,  again,  we  see  that  the  Jewish  temple  was  not, 
any  more  than  the  heathen  temple,  a  place  in  which  the 
congregation  ever  assembled.  For  any  man  but  a  priest 
to  enter  the  temple  where  the  deity  dwelt,  would,  in 
either  case,  have  been  considered  unpardonable  impiety. 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  Ill 

The  prince  and  the  beggar  alike  stood  aloof  from  its 
sacred  precincts.  The  sanctuary  was  a  shrine,  a  thing  to 
look  upon,  before  which  men  were  permitted  to  bow  down 
at  a  reverential  distance,  but  to  attempt  to  enter  it,  to 
draw  aside  the  veil  which  shrouded  its  sacred  mysteries, 
was  a  crime  which  scarcely  admitted  of  expiation. 

The  tabernacle  was  the  centre  from  which  every  moral 
and  social  influence  emanated.  Every  sin  was  to  be 
atoned  for  by  an  offering,  or  a  ceremonial  rite.  Every 
mercy  was  to  be  acknowledged  by  a  gift.  The  first 
fruit  of  the  field  and  the  stall  was  to  be  devoted  to  God. 
The  kind  of  offering,  its  age,  its  condition,  color,  and  the 
manner  of  its  sacrifice,  were  all  distinctly  specified. 
Three  times  a  year  every  Hebrew  male  was  commanded 
to  appear  before  God,  in  the  place  which  he  had  chosen 
for  his  abode.  So  complicated  indeed  was  the  ritual  ser- 
vice, and  so  thoroughly  was  it  intended  to  pervade  the 
whole  life  of  the  Israelite,  that  of  the  five  books  of 
Moses,  the  original  scriptures  of  the  nation,  if  we  exclude 
the  narrative  portion,  about  three-fourths  are  occupied  in 
directions  for  the  offices  of  the  tabernacle,  and  the 
various  services  directly  or  indirectly  connected  with  it. 

When  the  people  were  settled  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  had  become  a  great  nation,  it  was  obvious  that  some 
better  provision  should  be  made  for  the  dwelling  place  of 
Jehovah.  The  Hebrews  now  dwelt  not  in  tents  but  in 
ceiled  houses,  and  the  resting  place  of  the  Deity  was 
under  curtains.     Then  arose  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 


112  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

covered  with  pure  gold,  astonishing  the  world  by  its  un- 
paralleled magnificence.  Then  was  the  service  of  the 
sanctuary  inaugurated  with  increased  splendor,  and  the 
offerings  of  the  whole  nation  were  poured  out  like  water 
to  contribute  to  its  imposing  ceremonial.  Levites  in 
multitudes  thronged  around  the  shrine.  Thousands  of 
singers  on  the  solemn  feast  days  hymned  the  praises  of 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Countless  victims  smoked  upon 
its  altars.  It  was  a  gorgeous  spectacle.  All  that  man 
could  do  was  done  to  render  honor  to  the  God  whose 
dwelling  place  was  on  Mount  Zion,  and  whose  chosen 
resting  place  was  the  temple  in  Jerusalem. 

Such  was  the  worship  ordained  by  God  for  his  ancient 
people.  It  recognized  the  fact  of  holiness  of  places.  It 
supposed  that  God  manifested  himself  with  peculiar  favor 
to  those  who  approached  the  place  where  he  had  recorded 
his  name,  and  where  he  had  condescended  to  exhibit  the 
visible  signs  of  his  presence.  There  was  the  throne  of 
Jehovah  on  earth.  There  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  his  selected  servants, 
who  ministered  day  and  night  before  him.  They  were 
specially  under  his  care,  and  no  Hebrew  of  another  tribe 
could,  without  the  grossest  impiety,  assume  the  most 
trifling  function  of  their  office.  To  Jehovah  thus  shrouded 
in  darkness,  and  surrounded  by  his  chosen  ministers, 
three  times  a  year  the  pious  Hebrew  drew  near  with 
solemn  awe.  Yet  he  never  presumed  to  enter  the  tem- 
ple.    It  was  not  a  house  of  worship,  it  was  the  palace  of 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  113 

the  great  king.  Standing  at  humble  distance,  he  united 
with  the  thousands  of  Israel  in  singing  the  praises  of  him 
to  whom  he  offered  the  firstling  of  his  flock,  the  first 
born  of  his  sons,  and  whose  presence  rendered  Jerusalem 
the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth. 

But  all  this  magnificent  pageant,  as,  in  process  of  time 
the  human  mind  advanced  in  cultivation,  and  increasing 
luxury  gave  greater  power  to  temptation,  was  shorn  of  its 
effect.  This  spendid  service  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour, 
had  become  a  mere  physical  and  outward  seeming.  The 
Jews,  excepting  here  and  there  a  Simeon  and  an  Anna, 
believed  that  God  could  be  cajoled  by  formal  offerings, 
while  the  worshipper  wallowed  in  sensuality,  and  insulted 
the  Holy  One  by  treachery,  cruelty  and  lust.  They  tithed 
mint,  anise  and  cummin,  with  scrupulous  exactitude, 
while  they  wholly  omitted  justice,  mercy  and  faith.  They 
prayed  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  but  their  prayers 
were  the  longest  and  the  most  earnest  while  they  were 
devouring  widows'  houses.  As  the  corruption  of  true  re- 
ligion is  wont  to  degrade  the  conscience  beneath  the 
standard  of  unassisted  natural  virtue,  so  the  Apostle 
Paul  declares,  That  the  Jews  had  become  more  corrupt 
than  even  the  heathen  around  them.  All  that  a  magnifi- 
cent ritual  addressed  to  the  senses,  the  taste,  and  the 
imagination,  could  do,  had  been  done,  and  the  result  had 
proved  a  lamentable  failure.  Religion  and  morality  had 
become  entirely  disconnected  ideas.  Men  believed  that 
by  formal  service  they  might  recommend  themselves  to 


114  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

the  favor  of  God,  while  they  rioted  in  unblushing  licen- 
tiousness. Such  is  ever  the  result  of  a  religion  of  form 
and  ritual,  of  gorgeous  ceremonial  and  magnificent  parade, 
or,  in  a  word,  of  attempting  to  move  the  consciences  of 
men  by  an  appeal  to  the  senses,  the  taste,  and  the  ima- 
gination. Gentile  and  Jew  were  thus  given  over  to  vile 
affections,  and  it  might  reasonably  have  been  expected, 
that  the  next  manifestation  of  the  Deity  to  man,  would 
be  a  revelation  of  wrath,  consigning  the  whole  race  to 
merited  and  remediless  destruction. 

But  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are 
my  ways  your  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens 
are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher  than 
your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  higher  than  your  thoughts. 
Throughout  these  long  ages  of  misery  and  sin,  God  had 
never  forgotten  the  promise  made  in  the  garden  of  Eden, 
that  the  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  head  of  the 
serpent.  Amidst  all  the  vicissitudes  of  empire,  God  had 
been  preparing  the  way  for  the  advent  of  the  reign  of 
Heaven.  At  last,  when  the  fullness  of  time  had  come, 
God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under 
the  law  to  redeem  those  who  were  under  the  law,  that 
we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons. 

The  principles  on  which  this  new  dispensation,  the  king- 
dom of  God  upon  earth,  was  established,  were,  as  might 
well  be  supposed,  the  very  reverse  of  all  that  had  pre- 
ceded it.  The  former  dispensation  with  its  burdensome 
and  material  ritual,  was,  as  I  have  said,  typical  of  the 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  115 

spiritual  facts  of  that  which  was  to  follow.  When  the 
new  revelation  was  published,  when  he  of  whom  Moses 
in  the  law  and  the  prophets  did  write  had  appeared,  its 
office  was  accomplished,  and  it  was  forever  abolished. 
Then  was  revealed  the  reign  of  heaven,  scorning  the 
sensual  and  ritual  appliances  which  were  the  shadows  of 
that  which  was  to  come.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of 
two  systems  more  diametrically  opposed,  in  all  that  is 
visible  and  tangible,  than  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  and 
the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  The  one  relied  for  its 
effect  on  architectural  display,  imposing  ceremonial,  and 
the  performance  of  rites  which  could  not  make  the  wor- 
shiper perfect  as  pertaining  to  the  conscience.  The 
simple  utterance  of  the  other  was,  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  within  you. 

The  Mosaic  dispensation,  as  I  have  said,  proceeded 
upon  the  belief  that  the  presence  of  God  was  in  a  definite 
sense  limited  to  a  particular  locality.  This  locality  was 
the  temple.  Hence  the  temple  was  the  central  glory  of 
the  ancient  dispensation.  To  it  all  that  professed  to  be 
religion  tended,  and  from  it  all  proceeded.  The  Mosaic 
scriptures  are  filled  to  overflowing  with  directions  concern- 
ing its  construction  and  its  service.  The  Jew  never 
wearied  of  describing  its  magnificence,  and  he  exulted  in 
the  thought  that  the  shrine  at  which  he  worshiped  was 
esteemed  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 

I  turn  now  to  the  New  Testament,  and  I  do  not  find  a 
single  syllable  on  this  subject,  or  on  anything  even  re- 


116  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

motely  allied  to  it.  With  the  advent  of  the  Messiah, 
the  doctrine  of  holy  places  passed  forever  into  ohlivion. 
The  hour  now  is,  said  the  Saviour,  when  ye  shall  neither 
in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the 
Father ;  the  true  worshipers  worship  the  Father  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  Throughout  the  whole  New  Testa- 
ment, I  remember  hut  three  places  mentioned,  in  which 
the  saints  were  accustomed  to  assemble  for  worship,  one 
was  the  upper  chamber  at  Jerusalem,  another  was  the 
school  room  of  Tyrannus,  at  Ephesus,  and  the  third  was 
Paul's  own  hired  house  in  Eome,  where  he  received  all 
that  came  unto  him.  God  had  left  his  ancient  abode, 
and  had  chosen  for  himself  a  far  different  residence. 
Know  ye  not,  saith  the  apostle,  that  ye  are  the  temple  of 
God,  and  that  the  spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you.  If  a 
man.  love  me,  said  the  Saviour,  he  will  keep  my  words, 
and  the  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto  Mm 
and  make  our  abode  with  him.  When  the  Jews  and 
heathen  reproached  the  early  Christians  because  they  had 
no  temples,  their  apposite  and  beautiful  reply  was,  that 
their  hearts  were  the  temple  of  God,  that  there  he  dwelt, 
and  there  he  had  his  abode.  The  tabernacle  and  its 
ritual  was  formed  after  the  pattern  showed  to  Moses  in 
the  mount.  The  Christian  church  is  built  upon  the 
model  of  the  new  Jerusalem  beheld  by  John  in  vision. 
I  saw  no  temple  therein,  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and 
the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it,  and  there  shall  in  no  wise 


CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP.  117 

enter  into  it  any  thing  that  defile  th,  but  they  that  are 
written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 

The  old  dispensation  had  its  priesthood,  divinely  ap- 
pointed to  mediate  between  God  and  man.  They  held 
their  office  by  hereditary  succession,  and  in  their  veins  for 
ages  had  flowed  uncontaminated,  the  pure  blood  of  Aaron. 
The  priesthood  had  its  various  gradations,  descending  step 
by  step  from  the  high  priest  to  the  humblest  Levite  who 
ministered  in  its  service.  The  sacerdotal  order,  by  vir- 
tue of  their  mediatorial  office,  held  undisputed  control 
over  the  conscience  of  the  nation.  Hence,  as  it  must  be 
where  such  an  order  of  men  exists,  they  stood  at  the  head 
of  the  commonwealth,  amassing  its  wealth,  aspiring  suc- 
cessfully after  its  honors,  imposing  on  the  laity  burdens 
which  they  would  not  touch  with  one  of  their  fingers, 
and  by  their  licentious  example  leading  the  nation  to  in- 
evitable destruction. 

I  turn  now  to  the  New  Testament,  and  I  perceive  that 
the  priesthood  is  forever  abolished.  It  is  evident  that  our 
Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah,  of  which  tribe  Moses  spake 
nothing  concerning  the  priesthood.  Jesus  Christ  was, 
therefore,  a  Jewish  layman.  There  is,  therefore,  a  disan- 
nuling  of  the  commandment  going  before,  for  the  weak- 
ness and  unprofitableness  thereof.  There  is  no  longer 
either  any  priest  or  high  priest  on  earth.*  We  have,  how- 
ever, an  High  Priest,  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate 
from  sinners,  made  higher  than  the  heavens,  who  needeth 
not  daily,  as  those  high  priests,  to  offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for 


118  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

his  own  sins,  and  then  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  for  this  he 
did  once  when  he  offered  up  himself.  Wherefore  he  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  those  that  come  unto 
God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
them.  Every  believer  is,  under  the  new  dispensation,  a 
priest  unto  himself ;  and  it  is  his  undoubted  and  inesti- 
mable privilege  to  draw  near  to  God,  pleading  the  merits 
of  the  ever-prevalent  Intercessor.  In  the  place  of  a  pow- 
erful, wealthy,  and  insolent  hierarchy,  enslaving  the  con- 
science and  monopolizing  the  offices  of  the  nation,  I  be- 
hold twelve  common  men,  all  but  one,  peasants,  publicans 
and  fishermen  ;  untitled,  illiterate,  unknown,  whom  nei- 
ther the  lordly  priest  nor  the  learned  Greek  would  have 
numbered  with  the  dogs  of  their  flock.  Instead  of  the 
various  grades  of  the  priesthood,  I  hear  the  Saviour  de- 
clare, one  is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are 
brethren  ;  and  if  any  of  you  would  be  great,  let  him  be- 
come the  servant  of  all.  Hereditary  descent  determined 
the  right  to  the  Jewish  priesthood.  The  Christian  min- 
istry is  thrown  open  to  every  man  of  earnest  piety,  self- 
sacrificing  zeal,  on  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  has  conferred 
the  gift  of  teaching.  Social  position,  wealth,  and  polit- 
ical influence  were  the  attendants  upon  the  Jewish  priest- 
hood. To  the  Christian  minister  the  Saviour  promised 
nothing  but  the  natred  of  the  world,  the  loss  of  friends, 
the  malice  of  enemies,  and  persecution  even  unto  death, 
with  the  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  the  right- 
eous judge  shall  give  him  at  a  coming  day.     Moses,  the 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  119 

warrior  statesman,  and  Aaron  the  head  of  an  aristocratic 
hierarchy,  were  the  types  of  the  first  dispensation  ;  the 
Eedeemer  on  the  cross,  drawing  all  men  unto  him,  was 
the  type  of  the  second. 

The  Mosaic  ritual  was  burdened  with  numberless  cere- 
monial observances  which  met  the  pious  Jew  at  every 
hour  of  the  day,  none  of  which  could  be  omitted  without 
bringing  guilt  upon  the  conscience.  In  the  New  Testa 
ment,  but  two  rites  are  ordained,  of  which  the  one  may 
be  performed  at  any  water-side,  if  need  be,  whenever  a 
disciple  and  a  convert  may  meet  together  ;  the  other,  a 
simple  commemorative  meal,  which  may  be  celebrated 
with  the  domestic  utensils  that  can  be  found  in  any  pri- 
vate house.  In  the  place  of  the  costly  sacrifices  which 
were  offered  year  by  year  continually,  I  see  nothing  de- 
manded of  the  Christian  worshiper  but  the  offering  up 
of  holy  affections,  repentance  for  sin,  and  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  love  to 
God  and  charity  to  man.  The  soul  united  to  the  Saviour 
finds  within  itself  a  living  principle  of  holy  and  childlike 
obedience,  and  from  this  fountain  issue  those  graces  which 
manifest  the  man  to  be  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus. 

But  in  this  entire  absence  of  pomp  and  splendor,  in 
this  absolute  want  of  visible  organization,  there  is  mani- 
festly no  element  of  power.  Negations  have  no  efficiency. 
Whence  then  that  wonderful  almightiness  by  which  the 
new  dispensation  is  intended  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
itself  ?     The  answer  to  this  question  is  found  in  the  as- 


120  CHEISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

tonishing  facts  which  the  New  Testament  reveals.  In 
these  consist  the  power  of  the  new  dispensation,  and  hence 
beams  forth  that  glory  before  which  all  the  forms  of  rit- 
ual religion  fade  away  into  insignificance.  These  facts 
are,  as  I  understand  them,  mainly  as  follows. 

A  race  of  intelligent  and  immortal  beings,  morally  re- 
sponsible, in  rebellion  against  God,  was  justly  under  the 
condemnation  of  eternal  death.  Help  from  a  created 
arm  was  evidently  impossible.  The  Son  of  God,  by 
whom  and  for  whom  all  things  were  made,  moved  by 
Godlike  love,  undertook  the  work  of  our  redemption. 
He  took  upon  himself  our  nature.  He  offered  up  himself 
for  us.  He  obeyed  the  law  which  we  had  broken,  and 
bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.  God  can  now 
be  just  and  justify  the  ungodly,  in  virtue  of  the  doing 
and  suffering  of  him  who  has  magnified  the  law  and 
made  it  honorable.  As,  by  the  disobedience  of  one  the 
many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  the 
many  may  be  made  righteous.  A  door  was  thus  opened 
in  heaven.  The  race  of  man,  which  had  been  shut  out 
from  all  hope,  may  now  enter  freely  into  the  holy  place 
through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant. 

The  Son  of  God,  while  he  was  thus  working  out  our 
salvation,  condescended  to  become  our  teacher.  Through 
him,  the  pure  light  from  the  throne  of  God  shone  down 
upon  our  sin-benighted  world.  By  obedience  to  his  pre- 
cepts, every  one  born  of  woman,  though  now  under  con- 
demnation, may  attain  to  glory,  honor,  and  immortality. 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  121 

And  more  than  this,  he  himself,  in  his  own  life,  so  clearly 
exemplified  every  precept  which  he  taught,  that  a  way- 
faring man  though  a  fool  need  not  err  therein.  Denying 
ourselves,  taking  up  our  cross  and  following  in  his  foot- 
steps, no  one  will  fail  to  enter  with  him  into  the  man- 
sions which  he  has  prepared  for  those  that  love  him. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Jesus  Christ  implants  in  the  souls 
of  those  who  ohey  him  a  new  principle  of  moral  life,  by 
which  they  obtain  victory  over  the  sin  that  is  within 
them,  and  the  sin  that  is  without  them,  and  become 
united  to  God  by  a  loving  and  childlike  faith.  This  new 
principle  of  spiritual  life  must  be  communicated  by  them 
to  others.  Every  man  who  is  enlightened  is  under  impera- 
tive obligations  to  hold  forth  the  word  of  life.  He  that 
believeth  on  me,  said  the  Saviour,  out  of  his  belly  shall 
flow  rivers  of  living  water.  Every  man,  as  soon  as  he  is 
quickened,  is  commanded  to  proclaim  to  men  perishing 
in  sin  the  good  news  of  redemption,  until  the  reign  of 
heaven  shall  have  become  universal,  and  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world  transformed  into  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and 
of  his  Christ. 

The  Captain  of  our  salvation,  having  finished  his  work 
on  earth,  and  opened  the  gate  of  heaven  to  the  race 
whose  nature  he  had  assumed,  ascended  to  the  glory 
which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was.  He 
took  his  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High,  not  in 
his  original  condition,  but  as  the  glorified  Messiah,  the 
head  of  his  body  which  is  the  church.     As  such  he  sends 

6 


122  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

forth  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  by  the  manifestation  of  the 
truth  awakens#  to  spiritual  life  those  who  are  dead  in  sin. 
He  endows  his  servants  with  those  gifts  which  are  needed 
in  the  labor  to  which  he  has  appointed  them.  He  meets 
his  disciples  when  they  meet  to  worship  him.  Where 
two  or  three  are  met  together  in  his  name,  there  is  he  in 
the  midst  of  them.  Nay,  the  soul  of  every  individual  be- 
liever is  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  a  man  love  me, 
said  the  Saviour,  he  will  keep  my  words,  and  my  Father 
will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  to  him  and  make  our 
abode  with  him.  Every  believer  is  a  priest,  and  in  this 
temple  he  offers  up  spiritual  sacrifice  to  God.  The  ob- 
lations which  he  presents  are  childlike  affections,  filial 
obedience,  the  sob  of  contrition,  the  tear  of  penitence,  the 
humble  yet  mighty  confidence  of  faith,  the  patience  of 
hope,  the  labor  of  love,  the  universal  and  joyful  surrender 
of  himself  to  the  Saviour  who  loved  him  and  gave  himself 
for  him.  These  are  the  sacrifices  with  which  God  is  well 
pleased.  The  priest  who  offers  such  sacrifice,  whether  in 
the  private  chamber  or  in  the  public  assembly,  in  the 
crowded  city  or  the  lonely  desert,  on  the  throne  or  in  the 
hovel,  draws  nea«r  to  God,  and  God  draws  near  unto  him, 
shedding  abroad  in  his  soul  the  consciousness  of  his  love, 
the  peace  which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take 
away. 

Such  then  is  the  worship  of  the  new  dispensation.  It 
knows  of  no  holy  place  but  the  sanctified  heart.  It  ac- 
cepts of  no  oblation  but  devout  affections.     It  acknowl- 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  123 

edges  no  high  priest  but  the  Advocate  with  the  Father, 
and  it  invites  every  believer  in  his  Dame  to  draw  near  to 
the  mercy-seat.  It  scorns  as  impertinent  all  appeals  to 
the  senses,  wrought  in  gold  and  silver  and  stone  graven 
by  art  and  man's  device.  Its  kingdom  is  established  in 
the  spiritual  nature  of  man.  Its  aim  is  accomplished  in 
just  so  far  as  it  realizes  the  saying  of  our  Saviour,  God 
is  a  Spirit,  and  those  who  worship  him  must  worship  him 
in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

From  this  view  of  the  new  dispensation  the  principles 
may  be  easily  discovered  in  obedience  to  which  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Christian  sanctuary  are  to  be  conducted.  To 
this  part  of  our  subject  suffer  us  now  to  direct  our  atten- 
tion. 

The  design  of  Christian  worship  is  two-fold  :  first  to 
cultivate  the  divine  life  in  the  soul  of  the  believer,  and 
secondly  to  communicate  that  life  to  those  who  are  yet 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  Both  these  ends  are  accom- 
plished by  the  same  means — the  public  exhibition  of  the 
truths  of  the  New  Testament  in  humble  and  belie  vino- 

o 

dependence  upon  the  promised  aid  of  the  ever-blessed 
Spirit. 

The  word  of  God  must  be  addressed  to  men  or  oily.  A 
place  where  they  can  assemble,  retired  from  the  noise  of 
the  passing  world,  is  therefore  needed.  The  church  there- 
fore requires  an  audience  room,  to  which  believers  may 
invite  their  fellow-men  to  hear  the  words  of  everlasting 


124  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

life.     Let  us  then  inquire  what  are  the  principles  which 
should  govern  its  construction. 

We  have  seen  that  the  New  Testament  rejects  all  ideas 
of  holiness  of  place.  God  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made 
with  hands,  but  in  the  heart  of  the  humble  and  contrite. 
The  soul  in  which  the  Spirit  dwells  is  holy,  all  else  is 
common.  There  is  no  holiness  in  form.  There  is  no 
holiness  in  antiquated  form.  There  is  no  holiness  in  any 
mode  of  decoration,  whether  it  be  Boodhist  or  Grecian, 
Hebrew  or  Gothic.  From  all  these  the  religion  of  Christ 
averts  her  face  in  sorrow,  if  not  in  anger.  The  church 
of  Christ  does  not  worship  before  a  shrine,  addressing 
itself  to  the  eye,  which  men  may  look  upon,  but  which 
only  the  priesthood  may  enter.  It  needs  merely  an  au- 
dience-room, in  which  the  congregation  may  assemble  to 
hear  the  word  of  God,  and  unite  in  oral  praise  and  thanks- 
giving. In  all  its  arrangements,  therefore,  the  ear  and 
not  the  eye  is  first  of  all  to  be  consulted.  The  place  of 
worship  should  therefore  be  of  convenient  dimensions, 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  both  speaker  and  hearer.  It 
should  be  well  warmed,  well  ventilated,  and  in  every  re- 
spect so  constructed  that  nothing  either  within  or  about 
it  shall  withdraw  the  attention  of  the  worshipers  from 
the  great  object  for  which  they  are  assembled.  The  only 
beauty  at  which  it  can  aspire  must  be  derived  from  cor- 
rect proportion  and  simplicity  of  structure.  If  our  devo- 
tions are  suspended  to  behold  what  manner  of  stones  and 
of  buildings  are  these,  taste  has  overstepped  her  appro- 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  125 

priate  limits,  and,  irreverently  placing  herself  by  the  side 
of  the  Creator,  has  wrought  not  beauty  but  deformity. 
Every  thing  about  a  Christian  place  of  worship  should 
be  neat,  chaste,  appropriate,  and  simple  ;  so  that  the  dis- 
ciple of  Jesus,  free  from  the  intrusion  of  every  other  sen- 
timent, may  direct  his  whole  attention  to  the  relations  of 
his  spirit  to  the  unseen  God.  An  edifice  of  this  charac- 
ter meets  all  the  conditions  required  in  a  meeting-house 
for  Christians.  It  may,  moreover,  be  constructed  in  un- 
exceptionable taste  and  of  pleasing  appearance,  and  yet 
be  completed  at  a  cost  not  beyond  the  pecuniary  means 
of  almost  any  ordinary  company  of  worshiping  disciples. 
I  do  not  perceive  that  either  taste  or  piety  requires  any 
thing  beyond  this  in  a  Christian  house  of  worship. 

Holding  these  views,  it  may  well  be  supposed  that  I 
have  no  sympathy  with  the  style  of  ecclesiastical  archi- 
tecture which  is  rapidly  extending  itself  among  the 
various  denominations  of  Protestant  Christians  in  this 
country.  Whatever  be  its  form,  whether  Gothic,  or 
Grecian,  or  Italian,  I  object  to  it,  in  the  first  place,  on 
account  of  its  enormous  and  unreasonable  expense. 

I  am  aware  that  I  shall  here  be  met  at  the  outset  by 
the  remark,  that  men  build  sumptuous  palaces  for  them- 
selves, why  should  they  not  build  magnificent  houses  for 
the  worship  of  God?  Men,  it  is  said,  will  spend  their 
money  in  some  way  or  another,  why  should  not  a  part  of 
their  extravagant  outlay  be  employed  for  the  purposes  of 
religion  ?     To  this  I  reply,  by  what  right  do  they  build 


126  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

such  palaces  for  themselves  ?  Does  it  become  a  disciple 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  to  consume  his  property  in  useless 
and  frivolous  extravagance  ?  Is  not  every  dollar  that  he 
possesses  a  talent  committed  to  him  by  God,  for  which  he 
must  render  a  strict  account  ?  "While  the  poor  around 
him  are  growing  up  in  ignorance  and  vice,  while  perish- 
ing millions  are  famishing  for  the  bread  of  life,  by  what 
right  does  a  disciple  of  the  blessed  Jesus  consume  in 
fashionable  expenditure  those  means  by  which  a  heathen 
district  might  be  turned  from  idols  to  the  living  God  ? 
We  engage  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth  with  an  earnestness 
which  paralyzes  every  holy  affection,  and  throw  away  our 
gains  in  a  vain  competition  for  preeminence  in  extrava- 
gance. Living  thus,  I  grant  it  may  be  consistent  to 
build  expensive  houses  of  worship.  But  would  it  not 
be  equally  consistent,  and  more  befitting  the  disciples  of 
the  lowly  Jesus,  to  cultivate  simplicity  and  plainness  in 
every  form  of  expenditure,  and  consecrate  our  gains  to 
the  cause  of  that  Saviour  who  loved  us,  and  gave  himself 
for  us  ? 

But  there  are  graver  and  important  objections  to  the 
present  style  of  ecclesiastical  architecture,  aside  from  its 
lavish  expenditure.  It  is  certainly  no  trifling  matter 
that  thus  the  influence  of  worldliness  is  extended  over 
the  church  of  Christ.  That  expensiveness  of  worship 
has  this  tendency,  the  history  of  the  past,  and  the  obser- 
vation of  the  present,  abundantly  demonstrate. 

But  this  is  not  all.   The  moral  results  of  the  prevailing 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  127 

views  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  are  already  alarming. 
It  is  evident  that  our  Lord  intended  the  religion  of  the 
gospel  ever  to  hold  its  seat  among  the  middling  classes 
and  the  poor,  for  these  constitute  the  mass  of  humanity. 
It  was  among  these  classes  that  Christianity  was  first 
planted.  The  Redeemer  himself  was.  as  was  supposed, 
the  son  of  a  mechanic.  His  apostles  were  peasants  and 
fishermen,  illiterate  and  common  men.  Wherever  the 
gospel  was  preached,  it  was  among  such  men  that  it 
flourished.  Thus  our  Saviour  proclaimed  it  as  one  of  the 
palpable  evidences  of  the  truth  of  his  mission,  that  to 
the  poor  the  gospel  was  preached.  By  this  feature  was 
his  religion  to  be  distinguished  from  systems  of  man's 
devising,  which  always  sought  alliance  with  the  rich  and 
the  powerful.  As  churches  were  multiplied  after  the 
ascension  of  the  Redeemer,  they  were  composed  of  the 
very  classes  from  which  Christ  selected  his  disciples. 
Paul,  though  a  well  educated  man,  so  preached  that  the 
illiterate  and  the  cultivated  could  equally  well  understand 
him.  He  came  not  with  excellency  of  speech,  or  of  wis- 
dom, to  the  luxurious  and  polished  Corinthians,  but  with 
the  determination  to  know  nothing,  even  among  them, 
but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.  And  the  result  of 
his  preaching  was  such  as  might  have  been  expected. 
Ye  see  your  calling,  brethren,  how  that  not  many  wise 
men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble 
are  called  ;  tyit  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  God  hath  chosen  the 


128  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty ;  and 
base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  that  are  despised, 
hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring 
to  nought  things  that  are,  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in 
his  presence. 

Now  I  object  to  costly  church  architecture  because  it 
completely  reverses  the  design  of  Christ  in  the  promul- 
gation of  the  gospel.  Expensive  edifices  render  necessary 
a  great  additional  expense  in  the  accessories  of  public  wor- 
ship. So  enormous  is  the  cost  of  edifices,  and  so  great  the 
expense  of  maintaining  religious  services  in  our  cities  and 
large  towns,  that  none  but  the  rich  are  able  to  hear  the 
gospel  of  salvation.  The  mass  of  the  community  are  as 
effectually  excluded  from  the  house  of  God  as  if  they 
were  expressly  forbidden  to  enter  it.  Thus  men  of  mod- 
erate means  are  growing  up  by  hundreds  of  thousands 
estranged  from  every  religious  sympathy.  They  will  not 
go  where  every  thing  around  them  contrasts  so  strangely 
with  the  plainness  of  their  attire  that  their  very  presence 
may  be  a  subject  of  remark.  We  hear  much  of  increas- 
ing wickedness  and  alarming  infidelity  in  our  cities,  and 
we  observe  that  the  infection  is  spreading  to  the  country. 
How  can  it  be  otherwise,  when  we  practically  exclude  from 
the  worship  of  God  four-fifths  of  our  population,  and 
associate  religion  with  fashion,  and  wealth,  and  power, 
and  galling  worldly  distinction  ? 

But  it  will  be  said  that  in  most  of  these  churches  free 
seats  are  provided  for  "  these  people ;"  why  do  not  they 


CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP.  129 

occupy  them  ?  Or  it  may  be  said  again,  we  will  build 
mission  chapels  for  the  poor,  which  they  may  occupy  free 
of  cost.  To  this,  I  reply,  such  means  as  these  will  do 
but  little  to  mitigate  the  evil.  The  self-respect  of  an 
American  mechanic  forbids  him  to  accept  as  a  gift  what 
is  paid  for  by  his  neighbors.  He  will  cheerfully  contribute 
for  what  he  receives  according  to  his  ability  ;  but^if  you 
demand  a  contribution  beyond  his  ability,  he  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  your  service.  But  suppose  it  were  not 
so.  Were  the  rich  assembled  in  luxurious  temples,  re- 
galed with  the  music  of  the  choir,  and  elated  with  the 
consciousness  that  no  plebeian  sinner  united  with  them 
in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  ;  and  were  the  poor  and 
the  laboring  classes  collected  by  themselves  in  humble 
chapels  in  lanes  and  by-ways,  should  we  thus  realize  the 
idea  of  worship  presented  to  us  in  the  New  Testament  ? 
Let  the  Apostle  James  answer  our  question.  My 
brethren,  have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Lord  of  glory,  with  respect  to  persons.  For  if  there 
come  into  your  assembly  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in 
goodly  apparel,  and  there  come  in  also  a  poor  man  in  vile 
raiment,  and  ye  have  respect  to  him  that  weareth  the  gay 
clothing,  and  say  unto  him,  sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place, 
and  say  to  the  poor,  stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  undei 
my  footstool,  are  ye  not  then  partial  in  yourselves  and 
are  become  judges  of  (having)  evil  thoughts  ?  Hearken, 
my  beloved  brethren,  hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of 
this  world,  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which 

6* 


130  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

he  hath  promised  ?  If  ye  have  respect  to  persons,  ye  do 
commit  sin,  and  are  convinced  of  the  law  as  transgressors. 
But  it  may  be  asked,  are  not  the  souls  of  the  rich  of  as 
much  value  as  those  of  the  poor  ?  I  answer,  of  precisely 
as  much,  and  no  more.  We  all  stand  on  the  same  level 
in  the  sight  of  God.  It  is  for  the  spiritual  good  of  the 
rich,  as  much  as  of  the  poor,  that  I  strenuously  urge  a 
change  in  our  practice  in  this  respect.  Let  there  be  at 
least  one  place  this  side  of  the  grave  where  the  rich  and 
poor  may  meet  together  on  terms  of  equality,  as  the 
children  of  one  Father  in  heaven  ;  where  the  one  party 
may  learn  a  lesson  of  thankfulness  and  humility,  and  the 
other  may  feel  that  they  are  recognized  as  heirs  together 
of  the  same  inheritance,  and  where  the  hearts  of  all  are 
bound  together  in  one  common  sentiment  of  Christian 
sympathy,  and  then  every  worshiping  assembly  would 
testify  that  the  children  of  God  are  one,  and  the  world 
would  believe  that  Christ  was  sent  of  the  Father. 

But  again,  we  are  living  in  an  unexampled  period  of 
the  history  of  our  race.  The  whole  world  (nations  under 
the  power  of  the  Komish  and  Greek  churches  only  ex- 
cepted), is  now  accessible  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
Our  own  country  presents  a  field  for  philanthropic  and 
Christian  effort,  such  as  has  never  before  been  seen.  It 
is  in  the  power  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  in  the  United 
States  to  make  this  nation  the  instrument  of  a  world's 
renovation.  All  the  means  possessed  by  the  children  of 
God  are  required  in  the  work  of  Christian  benevolence. 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  131 

The  field  both  at  home  and  abroad  is  boundless.  The 
providence  of  God  invites  us  to  go  up  and  possess  the 
whole  land.  At  such  a  time  as  this,  can  the  disciple  of 
Christ  innocently  lavish  upon  splendid  temples  the  wealth 
which  would  feed  famishing  millions  with  the  bread  of 
eternal  life  ? 

The  style  of  church  architecture  now  coming  into  use 
among  us  is  the  medieval.  To  this,  especially  there 
seem  to  me  very  grave  objections. 

Aside  from  the  fact  of  its  enormous  expensiveness,  it  is 
especially  unfit  for  a  Christian  place  of  worship.  We 
need  for  this  purpose,  as  I  have  said,  a  convenient 
audience  room.  But  for  this  purpose  the  Gothic  form  is 
wholly  unsuited.  Its  numerous  columns  and  arches,  the 
elevation  of  its  roof,  the  multitude  of  its  angles,  and  the 
profuseness  of  its  ornament,  render  it  equally  incon- 
venient both  for  speaker  and  hearer.  Were  an  audience 
room  to  be  constucted  for  any  other  purpose  but  hearing 
the  gospel,  who  would  ever  select,  as  the  most  appropriate 
form,  the  model  of  a  Gothic  cathedral  ? 

But,  it  is  said,  the  Gothic  is  remarkable  for  its  solemn 
magnificence.  It  appeals  with  power  to  the  taste  and 
the  imagination.  Why  should  we  not  use  these  means 
for  the  promotion  of  piety?  Can  wealth  be  better  em- 
ployed than  in  creating  those  forms  of  beauty  and  grand- 
eur which  lead  men  to  holy  reflection  ? 

To  this  I  answer,  first,  I  have  seen  some  of  the  most 
exquisite   specimens  of  medieval  architecture.     I  have 


132  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

spent  a  day  in  admiring  the  surpassing  beauty  of  Lincoln 
Cathedral.  As  a  work  of  art  I  have  never  seen  any  thing 
that  could  compare  with  it.  I  was  almost  saddened  as 
the  conviction  came  over  me  that  no  such  structure 
would  ever  stand  on  the  soil  of  my  country.  I  must, 
however,  confess  that  it  never  awakened  in  my  bosom  a 
single  religious  emotion.  Those  magnificent  pillars,  with 
their  superb  tracery,  neither  raised  my  soul  to  Grod  nor 
quickened  my  charity  to  man.  I  bowed  in  reverence 
before  the  unknown  architect  who  had  composed  this 
wondrous  epic  in  stone.  The  remembrance  of  his  work 
can  never  leave  me  ;  but  the  emotion  is  purely  esthetical ; 
it  has  nothing  whatever  in  common  with  religion. 

But  perhaps  I  may  be  peculiar,  and,  in  this  respect, 
unlike  the  rest  of  my  species.  I  will  turn  then  to  the 
teachings  of  history.  If  these  grand  and  beautiful  forms, 
which  we  strive  at  so  humble  a  distance  to  emulate,  have 
any  power  to  raise  the  soul  to  God,  they  would  naturally 
have  been  created  at  a  period  when  the  disciples  of  Christ 
were  specially  heavenly  minded,  and  willing  to  part  with 
their  wealth  profusely  for  the  purpose  of  attaining  a  more 
vigorous  growth  in  holiness.  But  is  this  so  ?  Did  archi- 
tectural magnificence  take  its  rise  in  a  period  of  pure,  or, 
of  corrupt  Christianity  ?  Costly  Christian  temples  were 
never  erected  until  the  church  was  sinking  into  the 
lethargy  of  spiritual  death.  The  period  in  which  ecclesi- 
astical architecture  most  flourished  was  the  age  of  spir- 
itual darkness,  when  the  Bible  was  a  forbidden  book,  to 


CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP.  133 

the  masses  of  the  people,  and  almost  unknown  to  the 
priesthood  itself,  and  when  moral  midnight  brooded  over 
all  the  people  of  Christendom. 

But  we  may  ask,  what  has  been  the  practical  result 
of  this  effort  to  awaken  piety  by  an  appeal  to  the 
senses  ?  Many  of  these  magnificent  piles  have  stood  for 
ages.  Have  they  been  found  peculiarly  successful  in  the 
cultivation  of  devotion  ?  Are  they  now,  or  have  they 
ever  been,  thronged  with  the  humble  believing  disciples 
of  Jesus  ?  If  there  be  any  places  in  Christendom  where 
the  name  of  Christianity  has  become  a  scoff  and  a  by- 
word, is  it  not  under  the  eaves  of  those  cathedrals  which 
are  now  held  forth  to  us  as  incentives  to  piety  ?  Would 
it  not  appear  to  us  passing  strange  if  we  were  told  that 
a  glorious  revival  of  religion  was  in  progress  in  York 
Minster,  or  Westminster  Abbey,  or  Notre  Dame,  or  the 
Cathedral  of  Strasburg,  or  Milan,  or  St.  Peter's  ;  and  that 
these  gorgeous  shrines  were  crowded  with  men  and 
women,  inquiring  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved  ?  Or, 
suppose  the  Spirit  of  God  should  be  poured  out  in  these 
very  localities,  where  would  you  expect  to  find  the  awak- 
ened souls  assembled  ?  In  these  magnificent  temples, 
or  in  hovels  and  barns,  in  retired  hamlets,  and  caves  of 
the  earth,  where  they  might  escape  the  notice  of  the  very 
priesthood  whose  religion  had  been  nourished  by  the 
contemplation  of  the  noblest  specimens  of  medieval  archi- 
tecture ?  Or  we  may  come  nearer  home.  Do  we  find  that 
any  better  effect  is  produced  among  ourselves  by  our 


134  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

puny  imitations  of  the  architectural  wonders  of  Europe  ? 
Do  you  find  the  temples  which  adorn  our  cities  in  any 
manner  the  special  resort  of  the  humble,  devout,  self- 
denying  disciples  of  Jesus  ?  Is  it  to  these  that  the  sinner 
most  eagerly  resorts  when  he  would  know  what  he  shall 
do  to  he  saved  ?  When  trembling  in  moral  agony  he  is 
inquiring,  how  shall  man  be  just  with  God,  will  stained 
glass,  or  oriel  windows,  or  carving  in  wood  or  stone  return 
him  any  answer  ?  I  can  not  then  believe  that  such  struc- 
tures have  any  moral  efficacy.  If  they  have  never  accom- 
plished the  purpose  for  which  they  were  designed,  and  if 
they  do  not  accomplish  it  now,  I  am  constrained  to  be- 
lieve that  for  every  moral  purpose  they  are,  to  say  the 
least,  utterly  powerless. 

But  it  will  be  said  that  these  forms  of  ancient  archi- 
tecture are  hallowed  by  ancient  and  holy  associations.  Is 
it  not  desirable  to  avail  ourselves  of  sacred  memories  to 
increase  our  reverence  for  the  house  of  God  ?  In  this 
suggestion  there  is  certainly  a  show  of  reason.  We  nat- 
urally look  with  reverence  on  the  past,  and  delight  to 
foster  every  recollection  that  can  aid  us  in  the  attain- 
ment of  piety  or  virtue.  But,  granting  this,  let  us  not 
mislead  ourselves  by  a  misstatement  of  the  facts.  Let 
the  moral  history  of  the  most  splendid  specimens  of 
medieval  architecture  be  written,  and  what  associations 
would  it  awaken  in  the  bosom  of  a  disciple  of  Christ ! 
Were  they  erected  by  the  free-will  offerings  of  the  holy, 
or  by  contributions   drained    from    the   earnings  of  the 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  135 

degraded  slaves  of  an  oppressive  and  licentious  hierarchy 
the  most  imposing  of  them  all  by  the  sale  of  indulgences 
to  sin  ?  Who  have  frequented  these  solemn  shrines  ?  The 
lowly  disciples  of  the  Son  of  God,  or  brutalized,  sensual 
men,  who  dared  not  on  pain  of  death  to  open  the  lively 
oracles?  Have  the  ecclesiastics,  who  age  after  age  have 
fattened  on  the  oblations  offered  at  their  shrines,  been 
men  determined  to  know  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and 
him  crucified,  or  were  they  purpled  cardinals,  mitred 
bishops,  luxurious  abbots, 

"  Monks,  eremites  and  friars, 
White,  black,  and  gray,  with  all  their  trumpery  ?" 

These  very  edifices,  with  all  their  gorgeous  magnificence, 
have  been  the  chosen  resorts  of  men  who  have  perse- 
cuted even  unto  death  our  brethren,  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High.  What  is  there  in  any  such  associations  that 
can  create  any  joy,  or  awaken  any  reverence,  in  the  bosom 
of  the  disciple  of  Christ  ?  Were  we  to  be  governed  by 
association  I  would  as  soon  construct  all  our  halls  of 
justice  after  the  model  of  the  judgment  hall  of  Pilate,  as 
to  erect  churches  of  Christ  after  the  pattern  of  the  most 
splendid  specimens  of  medieval  architecture. 

But  it  is  time  that  I  turned  from  the  house  of  worship 
to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended.  What  is  the 
purpose  for  which  a  Christian  congregation  assembles  ? 

This  service  is  all  expressed  in  the  single  word  wor- 
ship. We  come  up  to  the  house  of  God  neither  for  the 
gratification  of  taste  nor  the  cultivation  of  intellect,  but 


136  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

for  the  single  purpose  of  worshiping  him  who  is  a  Spirit 
in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

This  worship  consists  in  no  physical  acts.  It  is  not  the 
performance  of  an  imposing  ceremonial,  it  is  not  the  offer- 
ing up  of  costly  oblations,  it  is  not  the  burning  of  incense, 
or  the  procession  of  priests,  nor  is  it  the  seemly  presen- 
tation of  our  bodies  in  the  house  of  God,  bedizened  with 
all  the  adornment  of  costly  apparel.  Ah  no  !  it  is  some- 
thing infinitely  different  from  all  these.  It  is  the  offering 
up  of  holy  affections  to  the  Most  Holy  God.  Penitence 
for  sin,  the  earnest  purpose  of  amendment,  the  confidence 
of  filial  love,  the  outpouring  of  gratitude,  longing  after 
holiness,  the  self-sacrificing  resolution  to  be  in  all  things 
a  follower  of  Jesus,  the  absolute  surrender  in  the  presence 
of  God  of  the  most  secret  and  unsuspected  sins,  the  cut-' 
ting  off  of  a  right  hand,  the  plucking  out  of  a  right  eye, 
adoring  views  of  the  love  of  Christ  that  bring  to  the  soul 
the  consciousness  of  indissoluble  union  to  him,  the  solemn 
consecration  of  our  whole  selves  to  him  for  time  and  eter- 
nity, faith  which  confers  victory  over  the  world,  joyful 
anticipations  of  the  day  when,  washed  from  every  stain 
and  clothed  in  the  Redeemer's  righteousness,  we  shall  be 
ever  with  the  Lord  ;  these,  these  are  the  offerings  which, 
in  the  name  of  the  only  Mediator,  we  present  before  God 
when  we  come  to  worship  in  his  presence.  Wherever  his 
people  assemble  to  offer  such  sacrifices,  the  Saviour  in  an 
especial  manner  draws  near  to  them.  He  presents  the  ob- 
lation with  much  incense  before  the  throne.     Where  two 


CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP.  137 

or  three  are  met  together  in  my  name  there,  saith  he,  am 
I  in  the  midst  of  them. 

So  far  as  this  service  is  purely  individual  and  spiritual, 
it  is  precisely  the  same  in  minister  and  people.  So  far 
as  it  is  social  and  vocal,  it  is  shared  between  them. 

In  prayer,  the  minister  expresses  orally  the  spiritual 
affections  which  the  people,  each  one  for  himself,  present 
unto  God.  He  does  not  offer  it  for  them,  he  only  gives 
utterance  to  their  offering.  They  approach  no  nearer  to 
God  by  any  mediation  of  his.  His  prayers  are  no  more 
prevalent  with  God  than  those  of  the  humblest  worshiper 
before  him  ;  they  may  not  in  fact  be  half  so  prevalent. 
He  rises  before  them,  not  to  make  an  official  address  to 
the  Most  High,  or  to  deliver  an  eloquent  harangue  to 
man,  but  to  utter,  in  the  hearing  of  all,  the  spiritual  af- 
fections which  animate  his  bosom  and  the  bosoms  of  his 
fellow- worshipers. 

But  their  affections  are  excited  and  sustained  by  the 
contemplation  of  the  truth  revealed  to  us  by  inspiration. 
For  this  reason  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  should  in- 
variably form  a  part  of  the  service  ivhenever  Christians 
assemble  for  worship.  And  again,  the  truth  of  revelation 
may  be  so  unfolded  and  enforced,  that  it  will  enable  us 
to  offer  up  a  more  acceptable  service  than  would  arise 
from  our  unaided  contemplation.  The  preacher,  a  man 
who  has,  it  may  be,  withdrawn  himself  from  worldly 
affairs  that  he  may  give  himself  continually  to  prayer 
and  the  ministry  of  the  word,  explains  a  passage  of  holy 


138  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

writ,  and  shows  its  bearing  upon  the  spiritual  character, 
affections,  and  conduct  of  a  Christian  assembly.  He 
deals  not  with  other  truth,  be  it  scientific,  philosophical, 
economical,  political,  or  patriotic,  but  simply  with  that 
truth  which  Christ  came  from  heaven  to  reveal.  This 
truth  alone  will  nourish  the  soul  in  all  virtue,  and  pre- 
pare it  for  its  eternal  home.  The  teachings  of  inspira- 
tion having  been  unfolded,  he  must  apply  them  fearlessly, 
honestly,  and  lovingly  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the 
sight  of  God.  He  does  not  stand  up  in  the  presence  of 
his  Maker  to  attract  attention  to  the  beauty  of  his  style 
or  the  splendor  of  his  imagery.  He  does  not  rise  there  to 
build  up  a  reputation.  This  were  to  handle  the  word  of 
God  deceitfully.  His  object  is,  in  thorough,  honest  and 
holy  self-forgetfulness  to  make  known  to  perishing  men 
the  precise  mind  of  the  Spirit,  warning  every  man  and 
teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that  he  may  present 
every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus.  You  observe  that 
the  apostle,  by  way  of  emphasis,  thrice  repeats  the  words 
every  man,  and  not  without  reason.  The  minister  of  the 
gospel  is  not  to  preach  that  the  ten  shall  applaud  him, 
while  the  ninety  shall  wonder  at  what  they  do  not  un- 
derstand. He  is  to  unfold  the  law  of  God  with  stern 
impartiality,  whether  it  condemn  the  few  or  the  many, 
the  mean  or  the  mighty.  He  must  place  his  learning, 
his  talent,  his  whole  self  on  the  altar,  as  the  Son  of  God 
gave  up  himself  for  us.  He  must  so  deliver  his  message 
that  every  one  of  his  audience  not  only  may,  but  so  that 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  139 

with  common  attention  every  one  of  them  must,  under- 
stand him.  Jesus  Christ  was  not  too  great  to  preach 
simply.  Though  in  him  dwelt  the  fullness  of  the  God- 
head, he  was  not  ashamed  to  bear  the  reproach  of 
"  having  never  learned."  The  common  people  heard  him 
gladly.  Shall  those  who  follow  in  his  footsteps  aim  at 
preaching  what  three-fourths  of  their  hearers  can  not 
understand,  and  what,  to  those  who  understand  it,  serves 
no  other  purpose  than  the  creation  of  an  intellectual 
excitement  ? 

Such  is  the  labor  of  a  minister  of  Christ.  His  object 
is  to  awaken  and  to  cherish  holy  affections  in  the  minds 
of  those  around  him,  to  arouse  sinners  to  repentance,  and 
to  strengthen  the  faithful  in  all  well  doing.  His  object 
is  to  do  it  now,  while  they  are  at  this  moment  before 
him.  He  is  not  to  preach  in  the  frigid  hope  that  perad- 
venture,  at  some  time  or  other,  some  two,  or  ten,  or 
twenty  years  hence,  his  words  may  become  effectual  to 
their  salvation.  Peter  did  not  preach  thus  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  He  called  on  his  hearers  on  that  day  to  re- 
pent, and  on  that  day  they  repented,  and  three  thousand 
souls  were  added  to  the  Lord.  Why  should  not  the  same 
results  follow  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  now  ?  The 
minister  of  Christ  preaches  the  truth  which  is  appointed 
to  make  men  wise  to  salvation.  Perishing  men,  in  dan- 
ger of  perdition,  are  before  him.  The  Saviour,  according 
to  his  promise,  is  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly.  Why 
should  not  the  truth  be  effectual  now  rather  than  at  any 


140  CHRISTIAN     WORSHIP. 

other  time  ?  It  is  to  accomplish  these  results,  to  bring 
men  now,  at  this  present,  to  be  reconciled  to  God  that 
the  minister  of  the  gospel  labors,  striving  according  to 
the  working  which  worketh  in  him  mightily. 

I  have  said  that  so  far  as  the  service  of  God  in  the 
Christian  sanctuary  is  vocal  and  social  it  is  shared  by  the 
minister  and  people.  They  perform  their  part  of  the  ser- 
vice in  singing  the  praises  of  God. 

The  principles  on  which  music  aids  us  in  devotion  are 
apparent.  It  is  well  known  that  musical  sounds  have  a 
decided  influence  over  the  tone  of  the  mind.  One  air 
harmonizes  with  grave  emotions,  another  with  cheerful, 
and  another  with  exulting.  Not  only  do  they  harmonize 
with  such  emotions,  but  they  are  capable  of  exciting 
them.  Hence,  when  the  sentiments  which  we  utter  are 
accompanied  by  appropriate  music  they  make  a  deeper 
impression  both  on  ourselves  and  on  others.  The  im- 
pression of  music  is  also  greatly  increased  when  a  multi- 
tude expresses  the  same  sentiments  in  unison.  A  hymn 
sung  by  a  single  individual,  or  a  choir,  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  would  scarcely  attract  attention  ;  let  it  be  sung  by 
ten  thousand  men  on  the  eve  of  a  battle,  and  its  effect 
would  be  irresistible.  The  music  of  a  solemn  psalm  was 
on  the  lips  of  Cromwell's  Ironsides  in  those  furious  onsets 
before  which  the  best  troops  in  Europe  were  scattered 
like  the  dust  of  the  summer  threshing-floor. 

The  application  of  these  principles  to  the  case  before 
us  is  self-evident.     In  a  Christian  assembly  the  believing 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  141 

soul  offers  up  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  devout  affections. 
These  affections  are  essentially  the  same  in  the  bosom  of 
every  worshiper,  as  the  hymn  is  appropriately  read.  By 
a  natural  instinct  they  are  impelled  to  express  them  in 
unison.  By  thus  expressing  them,  the  sentiment  of  devo- 
tion is  enkindled  to  an  intenser  flame,  and  the  hearts  of 
the  worshipers  are  united  in  holier  sympathy  both  with 
the  Saviour  and  with  each  other.  In  one  spirit  and  with 
one  voice  they  bow  in  lowly  adoration  before  the  King 
invisible.  Together  they  pray  for  the  kindling  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  together  their  hearts  melt  in  lowly  con- 
trition, together  they  lay  hold  by  faith  on  the  promises, 
and  anticipate  that  day  when,  clothed  in  the  righteousness 
of  saints,  they  shall  unite  with  all  the  redeemed  in  sing- 
ing the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 

Believing  all  this  to  be  true,  you  will  not  be  surprised 
when  *I  say,  that  nothing  but  congregational  singing 
seems  appropriate  to  the  devotions  of  a  Christian  assem- 
bly. We  meet  to  worship  God.  We  worship  God  by 
offering  up  to  him  the  oblation  of  holy  affections.  In 
singing  we  offer  up  this  oblation  in  unison.  It  is  then  a 
service  in  which  every  believer  is  expected  to  unite. 
Hence  the  airs  should  obviously  be  simple.  They  should 
be  emphatically  expressive  of  solemn,  tender,  and  devout 
emotion.  However  well  adapted  music  may  be  to  the 
expression  of  other  emotions,  if  it  fail  here,  it  is  at  best 
an  impertinence.     Unless  it  fan  the  flame  of  devotion,  it 


142  CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

were  better  to  omit  it  entirely,  and  lift  up  our  souls  to 
God  in  silence. 

And  if  this  be  so,  by  what  name  shall  we  designate 
that  service  which  is  performed  merely  as  a  matter  of 
musical  divertisement,  when  the  most  solemn  truths  of 
which  the  mind  can  conceive  are  used  for  the  frivolous 
purpose  of  professional  display  ?  Can  that  be  the  worship 
of  God,  which  is  enacted  by  men  and  women  hired  from 
the  theater  and  the  opera  house,  to  regale  the  ears  of 
an  audience  of  musical  amateurs  ?  Can  it  be  pleasing  to 
God  to  exchange  the  oblation  of  holy  affections  for  a 
mere  sensual  oblectation  ?  The  Saviour,  whom  we  wor- 
ship, has  said,  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them.  My  brethren,  do 
we  believe  this  ?  Is  such  a  service  as  this  a  meet  obla- 
tion to  offer  to  the  Saviour  who  is  present  in  the  assem- 
blies of  his  saints  ?  When  he  demands  of  us  the  tear  of 
penitence,  the  yearning  of  holy  love,  and  the  confidence 
of  childlike  faith,  is  it  seemly  to  offer  him,  instead,  trills 
from  a  fashionable  opera  ? 

Such  are  some  of  the  views  which  I  entertain  respect- 
ing the  worship  of  God  under  the  New  Testament  dis- 
pensation. With  a  few  parting  words  I  close  this  dis- 
course, already  too  far  extended. 

You  have  been  prompted  to  erect  this  house  of  wor- 
ship, I  trust,  by  sentiments  similar  to  those  which  I  have 
so  imperfectly  unfolded.  God  grant  that  the  devoutest 
hopes  you  have  ever  cherished  may  be  more  than  realized. 


CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP.  143 

You  have  consecrated  this  house  to  the  worship  of  God. 
Let  it  never  be  used  for  any  other  purpose.  Let  no 
sound  but  the  voice  of  worship  be  ever  heard  within 
these  walls.  Here,  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  may  you  ap- 
pear before  God  to  offer  up  to  him  the  sacrifice  of  holy 
affections.  Here  may  the  Word  be  ever  preached  in 
earnest,  faithful,  and  loving  simplicity.  From  this  place 
may  you  go  forth  clothed  in  the  whole  armor  of  God  to 
fight  the  good  fight  of  faith.  Here  may  you  trim  your 
lamps  so  that  in  all  the  resorts  of  business  you  may 
hold  forth  the  word  of  Life.  Here  may  the  Holy  Spirit 
take  up  his  permanent  abode,  and  fill  this  house  with 
awakened  sinners,  and  with  saints  growing  in  grace. 
From  you  may  the  Word  of  God  be  sounded  out  in  this 
city,  and  in  all  the  region  round  about  you.  *A.nd,  as  in 
succession,  each  one  of  you  comes  to  offer  his  last  sacri- 
fice at  this  altar,  may  an  entrance  abundantly  be  min- 
istered to  you  into  the  temple  made  without  hands, 
where  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof.  May  your  children 
rise  up  to  fill  the  places  which  you  leave  vacant,  and 
your  posterity  to  the  remotest  generations  become  heirs 
of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Jesus  Christ.  Then  shall 
this  sanctuary,  which  you  have  builded,  be  to  you  none 
other  than  the  house  of  God  and  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 


SERMON    IV. 

A   CONSISTENT  PIETY,  THE   DEMAND   OF  THE  AGE. 

"Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and  shall 
teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  but 
whosoever  shall  do,  and  teach  them  the  same,  shall  be  called  great  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. — Matthew,  v.  19. 

The  form  of  expression  here  is  peculiar  and  idiomatic. 
The  meaning  is  not,  that  the  man  who  breaks  the  com- 
mandment and  teaches  men  so,  and  the  man  who  obays 
and  teaches  them,  shall  both  enter  heaven,  though  not 
under  equally  favorable  circumstances.  The  words  teach 
us  a  lesson  far  more  emphatic.  They  affirm,  that  the  one 
shall  be  excluded  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  while  the 
other  shall  be  admitted  to  it.  This  sense  is  clearly 
brought  out  by  the  connection  of  the  text  with  the 
verse  that  follows  it.  Except  your  righteousness  exceed 
the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Our  Lord 
always  describes  the  Pharisees  as  sinning  in  the  manner 
alluded  to  in  the  former  part  of  the  verse ;  they  broke  the 
commandments  and  taught  men  so  ;  they  would  not 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven  themselves,  and  those  that 
would  enter  in  they  hindered  ;  they  compassed  sea  and 


A    CONSISTENT     PIETY.  145 

land  to  make  a  proselyte,  and  then  made  him  twofold 
more  the  child  of  Satan  than  themselves.  They  could 
not,  therefore,  escape  the  damnation  of  hell.  The  text 
is  then  to  be  understood  as  positively  affirmative  and 
negative.  If  a  man  (knowingly  of  course)  breaks  one  of 
the  least  commandments  and  teaches  men  so,  he  shall 
not,  if  he  do  and  teach  them  he  shall,  enter  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  The  Apostle  James  teaches  the  same  truth 
when  he  says,  if  a  man  keep  the  whole  law  and  yet  of- 
fend in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.  The  entire  subjec- 
tion of  the  whole  man,  body  and  soul  and  spirit,  to  the 
will  of  Christ,  is,  everywhere  in  the  New  Testament,  de- 
clared to  be  the  only  valid  test  of  discipleship. 

But  what  are  the  commandments  referred  to  in  the 
text  ?  Plainly  the  law  and  the  prophets  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  verses,  or,  more  generally,  the  whole  re- 
vealed will  of  God.  This  law  is  briefly  expressed  by  our 
Lord  in  his  conversation  with  the  young  ruler.  What 
shall  I  do,  said  the  inquirer,  to  inherit  eternal  life  ?  He 
said  unto  him,  What  is  written  in  the  law,  how  readest 
thou  ?  And  he  answering  said,  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength, 
and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  And 
Jesus  said,  Thou  hast  answered  right,  this  do  and  thou 
shalt  live. 

We  learn  from  the  discourses  of  our  Lord,  that  these 
words  announce  the  law  which  God  has  established  for 
the  government  of  his  moral  universe.     It  was  revealed 

7 


146  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

under  the  old  dispensation,  and  it  has  been  confirmed  by 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  speaking  as  the  Divine  Law- 
giver for  mankind.  The  reward  of  obedience  is  also  pro- 
claimed by  the  same  authority.  The  Son  of  God  has 
declared,  This  do  and  thou  shalt  live.  Such  is  the  law 
to  which  our  Lord  refers  in  the  text. 

If  we  reflect  but  for  a  moment  upon  this  command- 
ment, we  shall  easily  perceive  that  it  is  holy  and  just 
and  good.  It  requires  us  to  love  God  supremely,  that  is, 
to  love  him  as  much  better  than  every  thing  that  he  has 
made,  as  he  is  more  deserving  of  our  love,  and  of  course 
to  subordinate  every  motive  to  this  all- controlling  affec- 
tion. Can  any  one  complain  of  such  a  law  ?  Let  him 
then  take  any  object  in  creation,  and  placing  it  by  the 
side  of  the  eternal  God,  ask  himself,  Which  of  these  two 
is  the  more  worthy  of  my  supreme  love  and  adoration  ? 
Or,  let  him  take  this  whole  created  universe,  and  ask 
himself  again,  Which  is  the  more  worthy  of  my  unlim- 
ited reverence,  affection,  and  obedience,  this  stupendous 
mechanism,  or  the  Being  whose  mind  conceived,  whose 
hand  formed,  and  whose  word  sustains  it,  and  who,  in 
infinite  benevolence,  watches  with  parental  care  over 
every  creature,  rational  and  irrational,  that  inhabits  it  ? 
Or,  if  it  be  remembered  that  disinterested  goodness  justly 
deserves  a  return  of  gratitude  and  love,  let  him  ask,  What 
has  this  created  universe  done  for  me  ?  or  what  sacrifices 
has  it  made  to  secure  my  happiness,  or  shelter  me  from 
harm  ?     On   the   other  hand,    the   Creator   of  all    has 


THE     DEMAND     OF     THE    AGE.  147 

watched  over  me  and  all  that  he  has  made  with  infinite 
loving-kindness  ;  and  when  by  willful  rebellion  I  bad  in- 
volved myself  in  misery  such  as  no  finite  mind  can  ade- 
quately comprehend,  be  so  loved  me  that  he  gave  his 
only-begotten  Son  that  I  might  not  perisb  but  have  ever- 
lasting life.  Should  we  not  then  love  the  Creator  in- 
finitely better  than  all  that  be  has  created  ?  There  is 
not  a  man  who  can  stand  up  in  the  presence  of  bis  rea- 
son and  conscience,  and  not  confess  that  this  command- 
ment is  holy  and  just  and  good. 

The  second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigb- 
bor  as  thyself.  By  this  precept  we  are  commanded  to 
love  our  neighbor's  rigbts  as  we  love  our  own.  We  love 
our  own  rights,  not  because  they  are  our  own,  but  because 
they  are  rights.  We  despise  a  man  who  acts  on  any 
other  principle,  and  who  cares  for  right  only  wben  it  is 
for  his  personal  advantage.  I  ask,  then,  are  not  my  neigh- 
bor's rights  as  much  rights  as  my  own  ?  If  I  love  my 
own  rights  because  they  are  rights,  ought  I  not  to  love 
equally  well  my  neighbor's  rigbts  for  the  very  same  rea- 
son ? 

But  it  may  be  said,  and  truly,  that  the  precept  is 
broader  than  this,  that  it  requires  us  to  love  our  neigh- 
bor's happiness  as  we  love  our  own.  Be  it  so.  But  how 
do  we  properly  love  our  own  happiness,  or,  in  other  words, 
what  is  the  true  and  legitimate  object  of  self-love  ?  I 
answer,  self-love  is  an  innocent  and  necessary  impulse, 
disposing  us  to  surrender  a  small  good  at  the  present, 


148  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

for  a  greater  good  in  the  future  ;  or  (throwing  away  the 
element  of  time,  which  is  obviously  merely  an  accident) 
which  disposes  us  to  prefer  a  greater  amount  of  happi- 
ness to  a  less.  In  this  way  we  properly  and  wisely  love 
ourselves.  Ought  we  not  to  love  our  neighbor  in  the 
very  same  manner,  and  setting  aside  all  consideration  of 
mine  and  thine,  prefer  a  large  amount  of  his  happiness 
to  a  small  amount  of  our  own  ?  This  is,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  the  precise  view  taken  of  the  subject  by  our  Saviour 
himself.  It  was  in  illustration  of  this  law  that  he  spake 
the  parable  of  the  good  Samaritan.  He  tells  us  of  a  man 
on  a  journey  who  expends  his  money  and  exposes  himself 
to  personal  inconvenience  in  order  to  save  the  life  of  a 
fellow-man,  a  stranger  and  a  national  enemy.  He  sur- 
rendered a  less  good  of  his  own  to  accomplish,  a  greater 
good  for  his  neighbor.  Ought  we  not  to  love  our  fellow- 
men  in  precisely  this  manner  ?  We  should  then  love 
them  as  ourselves,  according  to  our  Lord's  interpretation 
of  the  law.  Can  any  man  suggest  a  better  rule  for  the 
government  of  our  conduct  ?  John  Howard  spent  a  life- 
time in  practical  obedience  to  this  precept,  and  human- 
ity, without  a  dissenting  voice,  has  declared  that  he  acted 
nobly.  But  was  not  John  Howard  placed  under  precisely 
the  same  moral  law  as  ourselves  ?  Can  we  honor  him 
without  acknowledging  that  it  is  our  indispensable  duty 
to  go  and  do  likewise  ?  Is  not  every  responsible  being 
obliged  to  imitate  an  example  of  which  his  conscience 
approves  ? 


THE     DEMAND      OF     THE     AGE.  149 

I  ask,  then,  do  not  our  reason  and  conscience  consent 
unto  the  law  that  it  is  good  ?  We  can  not  disobey  it 
without  doing  violence  to  our  own  moral  nature,  and 
thus  increasing  the  consciousness  of  guilt  and  the  expec- 
tation of  punishment.  We  know  that  we  shall  suffer  the 
consequences  of  evil  doing,  because  we  ought  to  suffer 
them.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  obey  the  moral  law  under 
which  we  are  created,  God  in  boundless  goodness  has 
promised  to  reward  us  with  eternal  life.  If,  however,  we 
look  for  eternal  life  on  the  ground  of  obedience,  that  obe- 
dience must  be  perfect.  If  we  fail  but  in  one  point, 
our  claim  on  the  ground  of  merit  is  set  aside  forever. 

Such  were  the  conditions  of  our  first  probation.  Have 
these  conditions  been  fulfilled  ?  Alas  !  all  flesh  has  cor- 
rupted his  way,  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not  one. 
Men  did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  and 
he  gave  them  up  to  a  reprobate  mind,  and  they  have  loved 
and  served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator.  The  love 
of  God,  the  controlling  principle  of  the  moral  universe, 
having  perished,  the  love  of  man  perished  with  it.  The 
first-born  of  woman  was  a  murderer,  and  his  children  have 
imbibed  his  spirit  and  walked  in  his  footsteps.  It  is  evi- 
dent, then,  that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  man  can  be 
justified.  The  conditions  of  our  probation  having  been 
hopelessly  violated,  there  remains  for  us  nothing  but  to 
suffer  the  consequences  of  our  transgression. 

In  this  our  lost  condition,  the  infinite  love  of  God, 
through  the  atonement  of  his  Son,  provided  for  us  a 


150  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

second  probation,  established  upon  better  promises.  He 
gave  bis  only-begotten  Son;  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  should  have  everlasting  life.  Under  the  conditions 
of  this  probation,  sinners  of  the  human  race  may  be  re- 
ceived as  righteous  through  the  faith  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Under  this  most  merciful  arrangement,  it  is  not 
our  obedience  but  the  obedience  of  Christ,  that  avails  at 
the  bar  of  eternal  justice.  The  evidence  that  we  are 
sharers  in  the  blessings  of  the  atonement  is  found,  not  in 
the  sinless  obedience  demanded  by  the  conditions  of  the 
first  probation  (for  this  has  become  impossible),  but  in 
supreme  love  to  the  Saviour,  prompting  us  to  sincere, 
honest,  whole-hearted  intention  to  obey  the  law  of  God 
in  every  thing  that  shall  be  revealed  to  us.  This  is  the 
law  of  God  that  we  keep  his  commandments.  If  we  say 
we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  if  any  man  sin 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous.  The  law  continues  the  same  ;  it  could  not  be 
changed,  for  then  God  would  deny  himself.  We  must 
set  it  always  before  us  and  make  it  the  rule  of  our  con- 
duct as  much  as  if  we  expected  to  merit  heaven  by  our 
own  obedience.  A  twofold  motive  now  impels  us  to 
keep  it  with  all  our  heart.  In  the  first  place,  an  enlight- 
ened and  quickened  conscience  prompts  us  in  all  things 
to  do  the  will  of  God  :  in  the  second  place,  the  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  us,  because  we  thus  judge,  that  we 
should  not  live  unto  ourselves,  but  unto  him  who  died 
for  us  and  rose  again.     The  law  as  a  rule  of  conduct  is 


THE     DEMAND     OF    THE    AGE.  151 

the  same  under  the  new  dispensation  as  the  old,  only- 
additional  and  more  powerful  motives  urge  us  to  obey  it. 
Do  we  then  by  faith  make  void  the  law  ?  nay,  we  estab- 
lish the  law.  We  can  not  believe  in  Christ  without 
dying  unto  sin,  and  if  we  be  dead  to  sin,  how  can  we 
live  any  longer  therein  ?  He  that  hath  this  hope  in 
him,  purifieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure.  This  then  is 
the  law  under  which  the  disciple  of  Christ  is  now  passing 
his  probation.  Its  requirements  press  upon  us  in  all  their 
strictness,  and  must  press  upon  us,  unless  we  make 
Christ  himself  the  minister  of  sin. 

Nor  is  this  all.  We  must  not  only  do  the  command- 
ments but  teach  them,  if  we  would  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  We  are  the  leaven  by  which  the  mass  is  to  be 
leavened.  By  precept  and  example  we  must  show  forth 
the  excellency  of  piety,  and  by  labor  and  self-sacrifice 
we  must  persuade  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  If  we 
look  to  Christ  for  salvation,  we  must  follow  in  his  foot- 
steps, bearing  his  cross,  and  confessing  him  in  evil  re- 
port and  good  report.  We  must  fight  the  fight  of  faith, 
ever  remembering  that  it  is  only  he  that  overcometh  that 
shall  have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life.  And  if  we  do  other- 
wise, if  to  please  men  we  break  the  commandments  of 
Christ,  if  we  timidly  surrender  ourselves  to  the  tyranny 
of  a  world  that  perisheth,  if  by  our  conduct  and  conver- 
sation we  cause  others  to  offend,  what,  I  pray  you,  will  it 
avail  to  have  been  called  by  the  name  of  Christ  ?  Many 
will  say  unto  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 


152  A     CONSISTENT     PIETY 

prophesied  in  thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  cast  out  devils, 
and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful  works;  and  then 
will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never  knew  you  ;  depart  from 
me  ye  that  work  iniquity. 

It  is  moreover  to  be  remarked,  that  this  spiritual  life  is 
to  be  maintained  in  the  midst  of  a  world  lying  in  wicked- 
ness, in  which  the  laws  of  God  are  everywhere  set  at 
defiance.  He  who  obeys  God  must  oppose  the  world  and 
be  opposed  by  it.  Our  only  choice  is  between  the  ser- 
vice of  God  and  the  service  of  the  world,  for  to  serve 
both,  our  Lord  has  declared  to  be  impossible.  We  are 
now  in  the  midst  of  this  conflict,  and  it  knows  of  but  two 
issues,  victory  or  defeat.  It  is  a  warfare  which  admits  of 
no  compromises.  If  we  manifest  our  love  to  Christ  by 
keeping  his  commandments  and  teach  men  so,  we  shall 
receive  the  crown  of  life  which  fadeth  not  away.  If  we 
break  the  commandments,  and  lead  others  to  eternal  per- 
dition, our  inheritance  must  be  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt. 

Though  this  antagonism  between  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  the  world,  must  continue,  until  the  reign  of 
Christ  be  universal,  yet  its  visible  manifestations  are  not 
always  the  same.  Though  the  maxims  and  practices  of  a 
carnal  world  must  be  opposed  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 
the  opposition  displays  itself  under  a  considerable  variety 
of  phases.  Hence  the  temptation  to  break  the  law  of 
Christ  and  teach  men  so,  may  appear  at  different  times 
under  quite  dissimilar  aspects.    It  must  then  be  a  matter 


THE     DEMAND     OF     THE     AGE.  153 

of  some  practical  importance  to  ascertain  some  of  the 
snares  which  at  this  present  beset  the  path  of  the  pil- 
grim to  the  new  Jerusalem.  Some  who  bear  the  name 
of  Christ  are  hardly  aware  of  the  position  which  they 
actually  occupy.  Others  have  lately  commenced  the 
Christian  life,  and,  observing  the  practices  of  men  pro- 
fessing godliness,  are  asking  with  solicitude,  where  are 
the  representatives  of  the  Saviour  on  earth  ?  To  such 
and  many  others  it  may  be  useful  to  reflect  upon  some  of 
the  moral  perils  which  surround  the  disciple  of  Christ  in 
the  age  in  which  we  live. 

Permit  me  then  to  remark,  that  the  present  is,  if  I 
mistake  not,  an  unusually  irreligious  age.  By  this  I 
mean  that  the  proportion  of  men  in  Christendom,  who, 
in  simplicity  of  heart,  do  the  commandments  of  God  and 
teach  men  so,  is  now  lamentably  small.  I  do  not  deny 
that  we  exhibit  an  outward  respect  for  the  visible  forms 
of  religion.  We  build  magnificent  temples  after  the 
most  approved  architectural  models.  Without  regard 
to  expense  we  load  them  with  such  ornaments  as  will 
gratify  the  taste,  true  or  false,  of  the  worshipers.  We 
provide  for  the  display  of  the  most  artistic  musical  talent 
in  our  religious  assemblies.  With  imposing  ceremonies 
we  dedicate  these  temples  to  the  name  of  him  who  had 
not  where  to  lay  his  head.  With  considerable  regularity, 
once  at  least  on  the  Sabbath,  we  unite  in  what  we  esteem 
a  religious  service.  We  have  succeeded  making  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  so  entirely  respectable,  that  a  man  who 


154  A     CONSISTENT     PIETY 

would  hold  a  position  in  good  society  finds  it  for  his  in- 
terest to  connect  himself,  more  or  less  closely,  with  some 
society  of  professed  worshipers  of  God.  This  surely 
looks  as  if  the  kingdom  had  been  given  to  the  saints. 
But  we  do  more  than  this.  We  unite  ourselves  in  volun- 
tary associations  to  aid  the  various  objects  of  Christian 
benevolence.  Societies  exist  for  the  purpose  of  promoting 
every  good  design,  and  of  arresting  almost  every  form  of 
evil.  Men  at  the  head  of  every  political  party  conde- 
scend to  recommend  the  revelation  which  God  has  made 
of  himself  as  a  very  useful  book.  The  value  of  religion 
as  a  social  power  is  commonly  acknowledged,  and  politi- 
cians and  statesmen  patronize  it,  in  part  no  doubt  on 
account  of  its  benign  tendencies,  and  in  part,  perhaps, 
because  by  its  cohesive  attraction  it  will  enable  them  the 
more  easily  to  move  the  masses  on  the  political  chess- 
board. It  is  not  on  account  of  any  neglect  of  religion  in 
these  and  similar  respects  that  I  am  constrained  to  con- 
sider the  present  as  more  than  commonly  an  undevout 
age. 

I  however  turn  to  first  principles.  I  open  the  New 
Testament,  and  there  learn  that  the  Son  of  God  left  the 
glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father  to  establish  a  spir- 
itual kingdom  in  the  hearts  of  men,  to  accomplish  a  per- 
fect revolution  in  the*  moral  character  of  our  race,  to 
transform  the  enemies  of  God  into  living  and  obedient 
children,  to  make  every  human  soul  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  to  prepare  us  for  heaven  by  breathing  the 


THE     DEMAND     OF     THE     AGE.  155 

spirit  of  heaven  into  our  own  bosoms.  It  was  for  this 
purpose  that  Jesus  Christ  constituted  his  disciples  into  a 
holy  brotherhood,  commanding  them  to  disciple  all  na- 
tions, until  the  will  of  God  should  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  done  in  heaven.  This  brotherhood  is  the  church  of 
the  redeemed,  which  he  has  purchased  with  his  own 
blood.  From  the  very  principles  of  its  constitution  its 
normal  condition  is  antagonism  to  every  form  of  evil ; 
its  only  movement  is  aggression  upon  all  the  powers  of 
darkness.  Its  only  watchword  is,  onward.  Having  tri- 
umphed over  the  kingdom  of  Satan  immediately  around 
it,  its  eager  eye  is  fixed  upon  the  regions  beyond.  It 
knows  no  pause.  It  is  incapable  of  weariness.  Like  a 
conflagration  in  the  forest,  it  acquires  intensity  as  it 
advances,  becoming  more  irresistible  at  every  step  of  its 
progress,  and,  by  its  own  necessity,  knowing  of  no  ces- 
sation until  there  remains  nothing  more  to  be  conquered. 
Such  is  the  conception  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  as  it 
existed  in  the  mind  of  its  founder.  How  far  is  this  con- 
ception realized  by  the  church  at  the  present  moment  ? 
Are  men  by  thousands,  as  at  the  beginning,  submitting 
themselves  to  God  ?  In  Christendom  itself,  does  the  in- 
crease of  converts  to  Christ  keep  pace  with  the  increase  of 
population  ?  Nay,  the  statistics  of  most  of  oar  churches, 
of  every  sect,  for  several  years  past,  have  exhibited  an  an- 
nual diminution  in  the  number  of  their  communicants. 
I  bless  God  that  within  the  last  few  months  there  are 
indications  that  the  church  of  Christ  is  returning  to  her 


156  A     CONSISTENT     PIETY 

normal  condition,  and  is  becoming  once  more  aggressive. 
Should  this  change  become  permanent,  there  will  be 
hope.  Should  it  be  but  temporary,  it  will  only  exhibit 
by  contrast  the  difference  between  what  the  church  of 
God  ought  to  be,  and  what,  in  fact,  it  is.  It  is,  however, 
true,  that  for  many  years  the  world  has  been  on  the 
aggressive  and  in  advance,  and  the  church  on  the  defen- 
sive and  in  retreat.  Can  this  be  the  normal  condition  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  living  God  ?  Did  the  Son  of  God 
take  upon  him  our  nature,  was  he  born  of  a  woman  and 
made  under  the  law,  did  he  bear  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
on  the  tree,  was  this  earth  sealed  with  his  blood  for  his 
peculiar  possession,  and  is  he  now  seated  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  head  over  all  things  to  his  church, 
and  all  this  to  establish  a  kingdom  that  should  be  con- 
quered, beaten  down  and  exterminated  by  the  very 
powers  whom  he  has  once  conquered,  triumphing  over 
them  openly  ? 

But  this  is  not  all.  It  is  perfectly  manifest  that  the 
Eedeemer  established  his  church  for  the  very  purpose  of 
exhibiting  a  living  example  of  direct  and  positive  antago- 
nism to  the  principles  and  practices  of  the  world.  Indi- 
cations, however,  are  not  wanting  of  a  prevalent  desire  to 
conform  Christianity  to  the  principles  and  practices  of 
the  world.  Christ  has  taught  us  that  the  more  distinctly 
the  contrast  is  seen  between  his  kingdom  and  the  king- 
dom which  he  came  to  overthrow,  the  greater  is  the 
power  of  the  church,  and  the  more  rapid  her  progress  to 


THE     DEMAND     OF    THE    AGE.  157 

universal  dominion.  We  seem  to  have  taken  a  different 
view  of  this  matter,  and  to  suppose  that  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  can  conquer  by  conforming  itself  to  the  world, 
and  reducing  its  peculiarity  to  a  mere  thing  of  creeds 
and  forms,  and  names  and  ceremonies.  Instead  of  trans- 
forming the  world  to  Christ,  we  seem  to  suppose  that  the 
same  end  may  be  attained  by  transforming  Christ  to  the 
world.  The  holy,  fearless,  plain-spoken  friend  of  publi- 
cans and  sinners,  clothed  in  the  garments  and  radiant 
with  the  manners  which  he  brought  with  him  from 
heaven,  seems  unfit  to  be  presented  to  the  society  in 
which  we  move  ;  we  must  array  him  in  modern  apparel, 
and  teach  him  a  more  polished  address,  and  repress  his 
homely  truthfulness,  and  accustom  him  to  look  upon 
fashionable  sin  with  allowance  if  not  with  approbation, 
before  we  can  venture  to  introduce  him  into  the  selecter 
circles  of  intellectual,  well-bred,  and  thoroughly  respect- 
able Christianity. 

Whosoever  shall  break  one  of  the  least  of  these  com- 
mandments and  shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  We  can  not  break  the  command- 
ments of  Christ  without  teaching  others  to  break  them. 
When  the  professed  disciples  of  Christ,  whatever  may  be 
their  theory,  conform  their  lives  to  the  manners  of  the 
world,  they  must,  of  necessity,  lead  others  astray.  Espe- 
cially is  this  influence  exerted  over  those  who  are  com- 
mencing a  religious  course.    It  is  natural  to  suppose  our- 


158  A     CONSISTENT     PIETY 

selves  good  enough,  if  we  are  no  worse  than  our  neighbors, 
and  more  than  all  if  these  neighbors  have  been  in  the 
school  of  Christ  before  us.  We  thus  insensibly  slide  down 
from  the  high  moral  eminence  on  which  Christ  has  placed 
his  church,  and  approach  the  dead  level  of  absolute  world- 
liness.  We  then  in  turn  become  sad  examples  to  those 
that  are  coming  after  us,  until  the  servant  of  Christ  and 
the  servant  of  Mammon  are  separated  by  a  line  so  indis- 
tinct that  it  can  be  discovered  only  at  the  communion 
table.  Nor  is  this  quite  all.  He  who  chooses  for  him- 
self a  higher  standard  of  religious  attainment  than  is 
acknowledged  by  those  about  him,  exposes  himself  to 
manifold  forms  of  ill  will.  This  ill  will  nestles  most 
securely  in  the  bosoms  of  those  who  think  themselves  as 
good  as  there  is  any  occasion  for.  Hence,  as  Whitfield 
and  Tennant  and  Edwards  in  a  former  generation  found 
it,  the  contradiction  of  saints  is  harder  to  bear  than  the 
contradiction  of  sinners.  The  young  convert  has,  after  a 
desperate  and  protracted  moral  struggle,  surrendered  the 
world  for  Christ.  He  enters  a  church  of  Christ's  disci- 
ples and  finds  them  delighting  in  the  very  forms  of 
worldliness  which  he  has  abandoned  as  incompatible  with 
a  hope  of  salvation.  Is  it  wonderful  if  he  is  moulded 
by  the  examples  everywhere  around  him,  after  he  has 
searched  the  church  in  vain  for  witnesses  for  God  ?  The 
salt  has  lost  its  savor  and  is  profitable  for  nothing. 
Those  who   call  themselves   disciples   of   Christ  break 


THE     DEMAND     OF     THE     AGE.  159 

Christ's  commandments  and  teach  men  so  ;  how  can 
they  point  out  to  others  the  path  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ? 

To  set  before  you  all  the  cases  of  departure  from  the 
commandments  of  Christ  would  be  impossible.  I  will, 
however,  present  a  few  of  the  most  obvious,  for  the  sake 
of  illustrating  our  manifest  moral  tendencies. 

In  the  first  place,  I  fear  that  the  love  of  wealth  is  un- 
dermining the  religious  principles  of  many  who  profess 
to  be  the  disciples  of  Christ.  In  the  too  eager  struggle 
for  accumulation,  men  break  the  Saviour's  commandment 
and  teach  men  so. 

That  this  should  be  the  case,  especially  in  this  coun- 
try, is  not  remarkable.  The  perfect  freedom  of  individual 
action,  the  universality  of  education,  the  free  develop- 
ment of  human  invention,  the  boundless  extent  of  our 
national  domain,  render  the  attainment  not  merely  of 
competence,  but  even  of  wealth,  possible  to  an  extent 
heretofore  unprecedented.  Increased  facilities  of  inter- 
course at  home  and  abroad  have  inflamed  the  desire  of 
acquisition,  by  placing  before  us  every  form  of  sensual, 
luxurious  and  artistic  gratification.  The  passions  thus 
acquire  a  terrific  power  in  their  warfare  against  the  soul. 
Temptation  becomes  too  great  to  be  resisted  by  ordinary 
human  virtue.  The  self-denying  precepts  of  the  gospel 
must  thus  be  brought  into  stern  and  perpetual  collision 
with  desires  inflamed  by  the  presence  of  every  means  of 
enjoyment.     Never  did  the  enemy  of  righteousness  go 


160  A     CONSISTENT     PIETY 

forth  to  the  conflict  armed  with  so  deadly  weapons,  or 
clothed  with  so  irresistible  power. 

For  instance,  the  Word  of  God  commands  us  to  be  dili- 
gent in  business  and  fervent  in  spirit  ;  to  labor  not  for 
the  meat  which  perishetb,  but  for  that  which  endureth 
to  everlasting  life  ;  that  our  desire  for  accumulation 
should  never  interfere  with  our  spiritual-mindedness  and 
the  needful  preparation  of  our  souls  for  eternity.  Do  we 
keep,  or  do  we  break  this  commandment  ?  Does  the  dis- 
ciple give  to  Christ  or  to  Mammon  kthe  choicest  portion 
of  his  time,  his  talent,  and  his  earnest  and  effective  exer- 
tion ?  Does  he  set  apart,  first  of  all,  such  a  portion  of 
every  day  as  will  cultivate  within  him  an  habitual  con- 
sciousness of  the  presence  of  God  ?  or,  does  he  surrender 
himself  thoughtlessly  to  the  pursuits  of  business,  and 
leave  for  God  only  those  fragmentary  moments  which 
are  useless  for  any  other  purpose  ?  If  a  merchant  should 
decline  a  lucrative  arrangement  because  it  would  leave 
him  no  time  for  communion  with  God,  would  not  even 
his  Christian  brethren  look  upon  him  with  amazement, 
and  the  opinion  be  generally  expressed  that  he  had  mis- 
taken his  profession  and  had  better  become  a  minister  ? 

In  our  relations  with  men  the  commandment  is,  As  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto 
them.  It  is  the  law  of  simple-minded,  honorable,  disin- 
terested reciprocity.  It  forbids  not  only  stealing,  or  the 
appropriation  to  ourselves  of  any  thing  which  belongs  to 
our  neighbor,  but  coveting,  or  the  secret  desire  to  appro- 


THE     DEMAND     OF     THE     AGE.  161 

priate  it.  It  commands  us  to  love  not  only  our  neighbor's 
rights,  but  also  his  means  of  happiness,  as  we  love  our 
own.  Such  is  the  commandment.  But  when  we  urge 
obedience  to  it  as  a  practical  every-day  duty,  we  are  told 
of  overwhelming  competition,  of  the  customs  of  trade,  of 
the  present  modes  of  doing  business,  and  the  utter  im- 
possibility of  obeying  such  a  rale  if  we  hope  to  be  rich. 
The  plain  English  of  such  statements  is  this :  we  can  not 
become  rich  without  breaking  the  commandment,  but  we 
must  be  rich  whether  we  break  the  commandment  or  not. 
Thus,  when  Christ  and  Mammon  claim  authority  over 
the  man's  life,  he  yields  to  the  authority  of  Mammon, 
and  yet  flatters  himself  that  he  is  a  disciple  of  Christ. 
The  love  of  wealth  thus  gains  the  victory  over  him,  and 
his  power  to  resist  evil  is  fatally  impaired.  Temptations 
to  wider  and  wider  deviations  are  palliated  by  more  and 
more  skillful  methods  of  self-deception.  At  last,  this  dis- 
ciple of  Christ  is  known  of  all  men  to  be  rapacious  and 
unscrupulous,  and  nothing  but  his  religious  profession 
rescues  him  from  the  imputation  of  being  a  sharper.  His 
life  among  men  is  a  topic  of  common  conversation,  and 
scoffers  point  at  him  as  an  example  of  the  morality 
taught  by  the  blessed  Redeemer. 

Jesus  Christ  has  said,  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treas- 
ures on  earth.  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  yon.  It  is  easier 
for  a  camel  to  sro  throusrk  a  needle's  eve  than  for  a  rich 
man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     These  words 


162  A    CONSISTENT     PIETI 

from  the  lips  of  Jesus  were  no  rhetorical  exaggeration  ; 
he  intended  them  to  convey  a  very  definite  meaning,  for 
he  spake  nothing  at  random.  But  we  can  give  them  no 
meaning  at  all  which  does  not  rebuke  with  decided  em- 
phasis the  inordinate  love  of  wealth  which  we  see  every- 
where around  us.  Our  Lord  surely  taught  us  to  be  con- 
tented with  a  moderate  portion  of  worldly  possessions, 
that  so  we  might  give  ourselves  without  reserve  to  the 
service  of  his  kingdom.  Is  this  commandment  kept  or 
broken  by  his  disciples  ?  When  they  have  attained  to  a 
competence,  do  they  pause  and  devote  their  lives  to  the 
service  of  Christ,  or  do  they,  just  like  other  men,  go  on 
adding  fortune  to  fortune,  while  the  appetite  for  lucre 
grows  by  what  it  feeds  on  ? 

But  we  may  look  upon  this  subject  from  another  point 
of  view.  The  Saviour  has  taught  us  that  we  can  not  hope 
to  be  saved  by  his  sacrifice  unless  we  surrender  ourselves 
and  all  that  we  possess  without  reserve  to  him.  He  re- 
commits to  us  what  we  have  surrendered,  as  a  talent  to 
be  used  in  his  service,  for  which  we  must  render  up  our 
account.  We  are  not  owners,  we  are  only  stewards,  and 
we  must  so  use  our  stewardship  as  to  please  the  Master. 
How  then  can  we  use  our  Lord's  property  for  the  purpose 
of  sensual  gratification,  of  luxurious  display,  or  of  social 
emulation  ?  Can  we  spend  the  money  which  we  declare 
to  be  the  Lord's,  as  those  spend  it  who  know  not  God  ? 
Yet,  when  we  press  these  plain  precepts  upon  men,  it  will 
not  be  strange  if  they  treat  us  as  intruders  into  their  per- 


THE     DEMAND      OF     THE     AGE.  163 

sonal  concerns,  and  tell  us  that  they  have  earned  their 
money  honestly,  and  have  a  perfect  right  to  use  it  as 
they  please.  If  they  violate  no  human  law  in  acquiring 
their  gains,  and  pay  the  market  price  for  whatever  they 
purchase,  they  wish  us  to  understand  that  no  further 
question  can  be  made  in  the  matter.  They  thus,  in  fact, 
shut  God  out  from  the  government  of  this  part  of  his 
universe,  and  affirm  that  their  right  is  paramount,  and 
of  course  extinguishes  his.  The  question  here,  you  will 
observe,  is  not  at  all  between  man  and  man,  but  between 
the  man  and  his  Maker.  Christ  declares  that  the  pos- 
sessions of  his  redeemed  ones  are  his,  and  are  to  be  used 
only  in  obedience  to  his  will ;  they  assert  that  their  pos- 
sessions are  their  own,  and  they  will  use  them  as  they 
please.  We  have  no  controversy  with  men  on  this  mat- 
ter. We  leave  the  servant  to  settle  this  account  with  his 
Master. 

I  trust  that  in  these  remarks  I  am  in  no  danger  of  being 
misunderstood.  In  all  the  denominations  of  Christ's  dis- 
ciples, we  find  among  the  rich  and  the  poor  shining  ex- 
amples of  earnest,  simple-minded,  self-denying  piety. 
The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  received  into  the  heart  must 
of  necessity  transform  the  affections  and  give  victory  over 
the  world.  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his 
commandments.  It  is  by  the  precept  and  example  of 
such  men  and  women  that  the  church  is  distinguished 
from  the  world.  But,  I  ask,  are  there  not  among  the 
churches  of  every  denomination,  just  such  specimens  of 


164  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

professing  Christianity  as  those  to  which  I  have  alluded  ? 
Are  they  ever  rebuked  ?  nay,  are  they  not,  if  occupying 
a  prominent  social  position,  frequently  flattered  and  ca- 
ressed ?  I  ask,  again,  do  not  the  lives  of  humble,  self- 
denying  Christians  shine  as  lights  in  the  church  ?  But 
why  should  they  shine  so  conspicuously  if  their  brethren 
in  general  obeyed  the  commandments  of  Christ  ?  They 
have  surely  done  no  more  than  their  duty.  But  if  this 
be  so,  what  must  be  the  end  of  those  who  are  manifestly 
living  to  themselves  ? 

I  remark  in  the  second  place  that  the  fear  of  man  is, 
to  a  lamentable  degree,  undermining  the  religious  prin- 
ciples of  the  professed  disciples  of  Christ. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  on  this  subject  is  explicit.  He 
commands  us  not  to  fear  those  that  kill  the  body,  and 
after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can  do,  but  fear  him 
who  after  he  hath  killed  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell, 
yea,  I  say  unto  you  fear  him.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men 
shall  revile  you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner 
of  evil  against  you  falsely  for  my  sake  ;  rejoice  and  be 
exceeding  glad,  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven.  The 
apostles  understood  these  sayings  literally,  and  they  acted 
accordingly.  When  threatened  for  uttering  unpalatable 
truth,  they  nobly  replied  that  they  must  obey  God  rather 
than  man,  and  when  beaten  with  many  stripes  for  pro- 
claiming Christ  and  the  resurrection,  they  departed  from 
the  council  rejoicing  that  they  were  counted  worthy  to 
suffer  shame  for  his  name.     They  had  a  vivid  conception 


THE     DEMAND     OP    THE  AGE.  165 

of  a  higher  law  than  can  be  enacted  by  man,  and  they 
fully  believed  that  this  higher  law  must  in  all  things 
govern  the  conduct  of  every  disciple.  They  were  simple 
enough  to  believe  that  the  will  of  man,  no  matterfiin 
what  way  it  be  expressed,  is  unworthy  of  a  moment's 
consideration  when  it  comes  into  conflict  with  the  will  of 
Almighty  God.  No  matter  what  our  obedience  costs, 
no  matter  to  what  sacrifices  of  the  respect  and  favor  of 
men  it  leads  us,  if  we  be  the  disciples  of  Christ  we  must 
resolutely  do  his  will  and  prepare  without  shrinking  to 
take  the  consequences. 

Such  is  the  commandment  of  the  Master.  Do  we  keep 
it  or  break  it,  and  are  we  by  our  lives  teaching  men  to 
keep  or  to  break  it  ? 

We  will  take  an  example  from  a  class  of  men  not  un- 
frequently  seen  in  every  denomination.  It  shall  be  a  man 
of  large  possessions  accumulated  by  his  own  exertions. 
In  early  life  he  maintained  the  reputation  of  an  earnest, 
prayerful,  and  consistent  Christian.  His  expenditures 
for  every  thing  but  religion  have  increased  in  proportion 
to  his  means,  and  he  has  now  attained  to  the  height  of 
his  ambition.  He  holds  a  place  among  those  whom  the 
world  treats  with  all  the  respect  of  which  it  is  capable. 

Let  us  enter  his  princely  dwelling  and  observe  the 
habits  of  his  family.  The  worship  of  Grod  has  been  found 
incompatible  with  the  arrangements  of  a  fashionable  es- 
tablishment, and  it  has  long  since  been  discontinued. 
His  children  are  leaders  in  every  form  of  polite  dissipa- 


166  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

tion.  Their  talk  is  of  the  ball-room,  the  theater,  the 
opera,  and  the  watering-places.  The  card-table  and  the 
billiard-room  have  become  necessary  to  the  amusement  of 
this  Christian  household.  That  income  which  the  man 
long  since  consecrated  to  Christ,  is  squandered  upon  fur- 
niture, equipages,  and  every  form  of  luxurious  extrava- 
gance. He  is  perfectly  aware  that  if  he  had  been  edu- 
cated as  he  is  now  educating  his  children,  he  would  long 
since  have  become  a  bloated  sot  or  a  loathsome  debauchee. 
His  conscience  formerly  spoke  to  him  in  tones  of  solemn 
warning,  but  he  has  at  last  succeeded  in  silencing  its 
monitions.  We  tell  him  of  his  obligations,  we  point  out 
to  him  his  danger."  He  acknowledges  it  all,  but  asks  in 
despair,  What  can  I  do  ?  All  this  is  expected,  he  as- 
sures us,  of  a  person  holding  his  position  in  society. 
Were  he  to  live  according  to  the  precepts  of  Jesus  he 
would  be  discarded  at  once  by  all  his  acquaintances. 
Were  he  to  confess  Christ,  men  would  separate  him  from 
their  company.  This  he  can  not  bear.  He  dare  not  obey 
him  whom  he  calls  Master.  He  therefore  breaks  the  com- 
mandment and  teaches  men  so. 

Let  us  follow  him  in  his  walks  through  the  world.  Are 
his  chosen  associates  the  children  of  God,  or  the  children 
of  this  world  ?  Some  of  them  are  ruining  themselves 
by  vicious  indulgence.  Does  he  privately  and  faithfully 
warn  them  that  the  end  of  these  things  is  death  ?  They 
are  given  to  much  wine.  Does  he  abstain  from  the  wine- 
cup  himself,  lest,  by  his  example,  a  brother  be  made  to 


THE     DEMAND    OF    THE    AGE.  167 

stumble  ?  Inquire  respecting  one  of  his  fashionable  en- 
tertainments, and  you  shall  hear  that  his  guests  have 
been  seen  reeling  homeward,  as  from  the  celebration  of  a 
Bacchanalian  festival.  He  is  surrounded  by  men  whom 
he  believes  to  be  hastening  to  a  lost  eternity.  When  re- 
turning from  the  funeral  of  one  who  has  died  and  made 
no  sign,  he  resolves  that  he  will  warn  them  of  their  dan- 
ger ;  but  the  contrast  between  his  belief  and  practice 
closes  his  lips,  and  he  sees  them  one  by  one  sink  into  a 
lost  eternity.  If  we  tell  him  of  his  duty  and  his  danger, 
he  replies,  perhaps,  that  he  knows  it  all,  but  that  were  he 
to  do  otherwise  he  would  lose  all  his  influence,  though 
what  his  influence  really  is  good  for,  neither  he  nor  any 
other  man  can  possibly  conceive.  He  is  afraid  to  confess 
Christ  before  men,  and  therefore  he  breaks  the  command- 
ment and  teaches  men  so. 

I  know,  however,  of  no  case  in  which  the  conduct  of 
the  disciples  of  Christ  is  more  at  variance  with  their 
principles,  than  in  the  case  of  their  political  associations. 

It  is  needless  for  me  to  remind  you  that  the  law  of 
God  is  intended  to  govern  all  our  actions,  private  and  pub- 
lic, individual  and  social.  If  we  ascend  up  into  heaven, 
behold,  Grod  is  there  ;  if  we  make  our  bed  in  hell,  lo  he  is 
there.  There  is  no  darkness  nor  shadow  of  death  where 
the  workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  themselves.  But  this 
consciousness  of  the  divine  presence  should  press  upon  us 
with  redoubled  power  when  our  action  affects  not  our- 
selves, merely,  but  our  fellow-citizens,    the   church   of 


168  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

Christ,  and  the  whole  brotherhood  of  man.  So  much  as 
this  will  certainly  be  admitted  by  every  reasonable  being. 
But  what  is  the  spectacle  actually  presented  during  the 
progress  of  every  important  election  ?  You  will  see  pro- 
fessed disciples  making  themselves  parties  to  the  most 
atrocious  wrong-doing,  and  supporting  measures  at  which 
the  natural  conscience  of  man  turns  pale,  at  the  com- 
mand of  their  political  leaders.  When  their  political 
party  prescribes  one  course,  and  the  precepts  of  Christ 
another,  they,  without  a  blush,  obey  their  party  and  dis- 
obey Christ.  If  you  know  a  man's  political  party,  you 
can  easily  predict  the  cause  which  he  will  espouse,  but  if 
you  know  only  that  he  is  a  professed  child  of  God,  you 
can  form  no  opinion  in  the  matter.  Christian  legislators 
in  their  places  have  been  heard  to  scoff  at  the  authority 
of  conscience,  and  men  claiming  to  be  ambassadors  of 
Christ  have  taught  us  that  we  have  no  higher  law  than 
that  enacted  by  our  fellow-men.  When  we  set  before 
Christians  the  law  of  the  Most  High,  they  shake  their 
heads  and  tell  us  sometimes  that  they  can  not,  and  some- 
times that  they  dare  not  desert  their  party.  It  would 
seem  that  men  would  rather  meet  the  judgments  of 
Almighty  God  than  be  found  in  a  political  minority.  If 
we  show  them  that  their  party  is  doing  wickedly,  they 
reply  that  religion  is  one  thing  and  politics  another,  and 
that  we  had  better  be  careful  how  we  mingle  them  to- 
gether. Let  any  atrocity  become  a  political  measure,  and, 
in  the  minds  of  many  Christians,  it  seems  to  be  cleansed 


THE    DEMAND    OF    THE    AGE.  169 

from  its  wickedness,  and  sheltered  securely  from  the  pos- 
sibility of  moral  rebuke.  We  must  not  apply  to  it  the 
principles  of  the  gospel,  because  the  wickedness  is  done 
for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  schemes  of  a  political 
party.  Thus  do  men  claim  the  right  to  ignore  the  au- 
thority of  God,  and  mark  out  for  themselves  a  domain 
within  which  he  must  not  enter.  And  Christian  men 
dare  not  resist  this  usurpation,  but  consent  to  serve  the 
creature  more  than  the  Creator.  Do  we  not  thus  break 
the  commandment  of  Christ  and  teach  men  so  ? 

In  the  third  place  we  are  in  danger  of  breaking  the 
commandment  in  consequence  of  erroneous  views  of  per- 
sonal obligation. 

I  think  it  obvious  that  the  New  Testament  is  a  mes- 
sage from  God,  addressed  not  to  nations,  or  societies,  or 
masses,  or  to  any  ecclesiastical  caste,  but  to  every  indi- 
vidual of  the  human  race.  It  treats  of  the  relations 
which  every  one  of  us  holds  to  God,  and  of  the  duties 
which  he  requires  of  every  one  of  us  personally.  Every 
one  of  us  must  give  an  account  for  himself  unto  God. 
The  duties  which  the  New  Testament  imposes  must  be 
performed,  not  by  the  votes  of  the  masses,  but  by  the 
acts  of  the  individual,  not  by  representatives,  but  by 
each  man  for  himself.  Moral  obligation  is  in  its  nature 
intransferable,  and  it  is  of  moral  obligation  exclusively 
that  the  Word  of  God  treats.  It  tells  us  of  the  duties 
which  we  owe  to  our  Creator  and  Redeemer,  and  these 
duties  can  never  be  performed  by  substitute.     So  far  as  I 


170  A    CONSISTENT    PIETY 

know,  this  rule  applies  to  every  precept  taught  by  Jesus 
Christ.  What  could  be  more  absurd  than  to  suppose 
ourselves  at  liberty  to  lie  or  steal  if  we  only  procured 
some  one  else  to  be  honest  and  tell  the  truth  for  us. 
Does  not  the  same  principle  apply  equally  to  all  the 
other  precepts  of  the  gospel  ?  Do  we  keep  the  law  or 
break  it  ? 

Let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  views  which  prevail 
in  most  of  the  churches  of  every  denomination.  There 
can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt  that  the  Saviour  requires  every 
redeemed  soul  to  make  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  the  great  business  of  his  life,  to  labor  personally 
with  men  for  their  salvation,  to  invite  them  to  come  to 
Christ  that  they  may  escape  the  wrath  to  come.  There 
can  not  then  be  a  disciple  of  Christ,  whatever  be  his  con- 
dition, on  whom  this  obligation  in  all  its  strictness  does 
not  plainly  rest.  But  how  do  we  perform  this  duty  ? 
We  form  ourselves  into  churches,  delegate  the  labor  of 
extending  the  kingdom  of  Christ  to  a  single  individual, 
and  consider  ourselves  absolved  from  the  duty  imposed 
upon  us  by  simply  ministering  to  his  physical  wants. 
The  Master  summons  us  all  to  personal  labor  in  his  vine- 
yard, and  we  combine  together  and  send,  in  the  place  of 
several  hundreds,  a  single  individual.  To  render  our 
conduct  consistent,  we  prescribe  qualifications  for  the  dis- 
charge of  a  Christian  duty  which  Christ  has  never  pre- 
scribed, and  then  excuse  ourselves  from  doing  his  bidding 
because  we  have  not  these  self-imposed  qualifications. 


THE     DEMAND    OF    THE    AGE.  171 

We  seem  to  suppose  that  no  disciple  is  at  liberty  to  invite 
sinners  to  come  to  Christ  unless  he  has  consumed  many 
years  in  the  study  of  heathen  classics,  and  become  famil- 
iar with  the  opinions  of  men  for  eighteen  centuries  on 
the  teachings  of  Christ.  It  required  the  wisdom  of 
Omniscience  to  express  the  ideas  of  God  in  the  words  of 
Jesus  so  simply  that  a  little  child  can  understand  them. 
We  assume  that  these  very  teachings  are,  of  all  writings 
on  earth,  the  most  enigmatical,  nay,  that  they  are  in 
fact  committed  to  a  learned  priesthood,  who  are  author- 
ized to  interpret  them  to  us.  But  this  learned  caste  seem 
to  find  almost  as  much  difficulty  in  understanding  the 
revelation  as  their  less  favored  brethren.  They  open 
the  book  and  spread  over  it  a  covering  of  the  opinions 
of  the  so-called  fathers,  and  over  this  another  from  the 
logomachy  of  the  schoolmen,  and  over  this  another  from 
the  polemics  of  the  Reformation,  and  over  this  another 
from  the  metaphysical  divinity  of  a  later  age,  and  over 
these,  last  of  all,  a  thick  vail  of  German  neology,  and 
then  they  wonder  that  through  all  these,  they  can  not 
decipher  the  letters  of  light  traced  by  the  finger  of  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh.  Thus  the  vision  is  become  unto 
us  as  the  words  of  a  book  that  is  sealed,  which  men 
deliver  to  one  that  is  learned,  saying,  Eead  this  I  pray 
thee,  and  he  saith,  I  can  not  for  it  is  sealed  ;  and  the 
book  is  delivered  unto  one  that  is  not  learned,  saying, 
Read  this  I  pray  thee,  and  he  saith,  I  can  not  for  I  am 
not  learned.     Thus,  to  escape  the  obligation  of  personal 


172  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

duty,  we  make  the  Word  of  God  of  none  effect,  we  deny 
the  right  of  private  interpretation,  and  are  thoughtlessly 
embracing  one  of  the  most  fatal  errors  of  Romanism. 

The  same  tendency  to  do  the  will  of  God  by  substitute, 
instead  of  doing  it  each  one  for  himself,  may  be  observed 
in  our  attempts  to  accomplish  some  good  design,  or  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  some  enormous  evil.  Christ  com- 
mands every  one  of  us,  individually,  to  follow  his  exam- 
ple, and,  laying  hold  of  the  weapons  of  faith  and  love, 
with  holy  boldness  commence  the  warfare  against  every 
form  of  vice  and  oppression.  It  is  on  the  efforts  of  sin- 
gle men,  moved  by  a  common  love  of  Christ,  and  guided 
by  the  indwelling  Spirit,  that  the  gospel  relies  for  success. 
We,  however,  take  a  different  course.  Instead  of  com- 
mencing this  labor,  each  one  for  himself,  we  prefer  to 
merge  our  individuality  in  extensive  voluntary  associa- 
tions. We  meet  in  conventions,  we  deliver  platform 
orations,  we  pass  strong  resolutions,  and  we  return 
home  well  pleased  with  the  belief  that,  though  we  have 
not  reformed  a  single  sinner,  we  have  made  a  powerful 
impression  on  what  we  term  the  American  mind.  In  this 
conviction  we  remain  perfectly  at  ease  until  the  next 
anniversary,  when  we  meet  again,  make  speeches,  pass  res- 
olutions, talk  vehemently  about  the  all-controlling  moral 
efficacy  of  the  ballot-box,  and,  although  we  have  not 
touched  the  burden  with  one  of  our  fingers,  wonder  that 
the  work  of  reformation  is  not  already  accomplished. 
We  proceed  in  the  same  manner  in  the  matter  of  ordi- 


THE    DEMAND    OF    THE    AGE.  173 

nary  benevolence.  Jesus  Christ  has  made  it  the  duty 
of  every  one  of  his  disciples  to  feed  the  hungry,  to  clothe 
the  naked,  to  visit  the  sick  and  the  prisoner,  to  speak 
words  of  comfort  to  the  disconsolate,  and  to  carry  the 
good  news  of  salvation  to  publicans  and  sinners,  the  lost, 
the  forgotten,  and  the  abandoned,  and  he  has  said,  Inas- 
much as  ye  have  done  it  to  the  least  of  these  my  breth- 
ren ye  have  done  it  unto  me.  He  has  taught  us  that 
personal  labor  in  these  forms  of  charity  is  a  means  of 
spiritual  improvement,  just  like  prayer  or  fasting ;  he 
has  subjected  it  to  the  same  rules,  and  promised  to  it  the 
same  rewards.  How  do  we  obey  this  precept  ?  We 
form  a  society  to  which  each  member  contributes  a  mis- 
erable mite,  and  thus  a  sum  is  annually  collected  no 
greater  than  that  which  many  of  these  individuals  expend 
in  thoughtless  extravagance.  We  employ  an  agent  to 
distribute  these  little  offerings,  and  never  ourselves  come 
into  personal  contact  with  poverty,  wretchedness,  and 
ciime.  Thus  the  work  of  charity  is,  as  we  suppose,  ade- 
quately, as  it  certainly  is  economically,  performed.  It 
costs  no  sacrifice.  It  cultivates  the  Christian  graces  nei- 
ther of  the  benefactor  nor  the  recipient.  In  all  this,  do 
we  keep  or  break  the  commandment  of  the  Kedeemer  ? 

Before  I  close,  suffer  me  to  add  a  remark  respecting 
missions.  The  command  of  the  Saviour  to  his  disciples, 
is,  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  To  fulfill  this  command  is  the  very 
object  for  which  the  church  of  Christ  was  constituted, 


174  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

and  for  which  each  individual  Christian  lives.  For  him- 
self and  for  his  fellow-men  he  seeks  first  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  To  this  object  the  plans  of  his  life  should  he 
subordinated.  Every  disciple  of  Christ  should  hold  him- 
self ready,  at  all  times,  to  spend  his  life  in  any  place 
where  he  can  the  most  successfully  labor  for  the  conver- 
sion of  souls.  With  these  views  I  do  not  see  why  a 
Christian  merchant,  or  mechanic,  or  physician,  is  not 
bound,  just  as  much  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  to  ask, 
is  it  the  will  of  the  Master  that  I  shall  serve  him  in  a 
heathen  or  in  a  Christian  land  ?  The  cause  of  Christ 
requires  the  aid  of  all  men  of  every  calling.  Men  of  the 
world  go  to  heathen  lands  by  thousands  for  the  sake  of 
gain  ;  why  should  not  Christian  laymen  accompany  them 
and  labor  to  rescue  souls  from  perdition  ?  The  heathen  are 
corrupted  by  the  example  of  ungodly  civilized  men  ;  why 
should  not  their  unholy  influence  be  corrected  by  the 
precept  and  example  of  godly  men  ?  Or,  if  the  Chris- 
tian layman  believes  it  to  be  his  duty  to  remain  at  home, 
the  principles  which  govern  his  life  are  not  on  that  ac- 
count in  any  manner  changed.  He  accumulates  not  for 
himself  but  for  others,  and  all  that  he  possesses  is  to  be 
consecrated  in  simplicity  of  heart  to  the  advancement  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

But  how  do  we  obey  the  injunctions  of  the  Master  ? 
We  form  associations  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  at  home  and  abroad,  we  devolve  upon 
a  few  of  our  brethren  the  labor  of  superintending  the 


THE     DEMAND      OF     THE      AGE.  175 

work,  and  suppose  that  our  duty  is  performed  by  simply 
making  a  contribution  to  this  form  of  charity.  This  con- 
tribution, however,  is  too  small  to  occasion  the  self- 
denial  of  the  most  insignificant  luxury.  We  send  a  few 
missionaries  abroad,  and  a  few  to  our  own  destitute 
settlements.  But  let  me  ask,  at  our  present  rate  of  self- 
denying  effort,  what  millions  of  years  must  elapse  before 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  and  of  his  Christ?  Are  we  in  this  matter  obeying 
or  breaking  the  commandment  of  the  Master  ? 

I  need  not  any  further  multiply  illustrations.  Suppose, 
however,  a  visitor  from  another  sphere,  acquainted  with 
all  that  has  been  done  for  the  salvation  of  man,  and 
knowing  the  infinite  consequences  which  result  from 
keeping  or  breaking  the  commandments  of  Jesus,  should 
visit  our  world,  pass  through  our  marts  of  business,  enter 
our  families,  frequent  our  places  of  amusement,  go  with 
us  to  our  magnificent  temples,  and  make  himself  familiar 
with  the  vice  and  misery  festering  everywhere  around  us, 
where  would  he  look  for  the  disciples  of  the  holy,  self- 
denying  Son  of  G-od  ?  If  we  made  simple  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  Jesus  the  foundation  of  his  judgments, 
would  he  not  decide  that  the  love  of  the  Father  was 
hardly  to  be  discovered  among  us  ?  But,  beloved,  there  is 
such  a  Visitor  ever  present  with  us,  whose  word  is  quick 
and  powerful,  sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,  and  a  dis- 
cerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  He  said 
not  a  word,  when  he  was  on  earth,  which  did  not  express 


176  A    CONSISTENT     PIETY 

the  unchangeable  law  of  the  eternal  God.  That  Jaw  is 
as  great  and  powerful  now  as  at  the  moment  when  he 
uttered  it.  He  has  said,  unless  a  man  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me,  he  can  not  be  my  dis- 
ciple. In  vain  do  ye  call  me  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the 
things  that  I  say.  If  any  man  love  the  world  the  love 
of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  The  law  of  Christian  dis- 
cipleship  has  not  changed,  for  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever.  Awake,  thou  that 
sleepest,  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee 
life. 

Nor  is  this  all.  "When  we  break  the  commandments 
of  Christ  we  of  necessity  teach  men  so.  We  are  set 
forth  before  the  world  as  the  living  exponents  of  the  pre- 
cepts of  Christ,  and  men  understand  them  to  mean 
whatever  they  see  us  actually  doing.  Hence  the  young 
convert,  misled  by  our  example,  quickly  forsakes  his  first 
love  and  sinks  his  religion  into  a  thing  of  creeds  and 
formulas  and  outward  professions.  The  impenitent  ask 
us,  what  is  the  change  which  we  insist  upon  as  necessary 
to  salvation,  since  the  men  who  have  passed  through  it  are 
no  better  than  themselves  ?  They  hear  from  the  pulpit 
much  about  human  depravity,  regeneration,  heaven  and 
hell,  victory  over  the  world,  and  of  unreserved  consecra- 
tion to  Christ,  but  they  hear  little  of  them  anywhere 
else.  These,  if  they  be  truths,  do  not  influence  men's 
lives,  and  the  inquirer  denounces  the  whole  system  a 
worthless  imposture.     Beloved,  does  our  practice  give 


THE     DEMAND     OF     THE     AGE.  177 

occasion  to  no  such  errors  as  these  ?  If  we  enter  not  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ourselves,  the  mischief  does  not  ter- 
minate here — those  that  are  entering  in  we  shall  hinder, 
and  on  whom  will  the  sin  of  their  destruction  rest  ? 

Beloved,  pardon,  I  beseech  you,  my  plainness.  Bat 
if  these  are  the  true  sayings  of  the  New  Testament, 
ought  they  not  to  be  spoken  plainly  ?  Was  there  ever  a 
time,  since  the  coming  of  Christ,  in  which  the  whole 
world  stood  in  such  perishing  need  of  a  universal  revival 
of  religion  as  the  present  ?  Was  the  world  ever  so 
universally  open  to  Christian  effort  as  it  is  now  ?  The 
voice  of  G-od's  providence  seems  emphatically  to  say  to 
us,  go  ye  up  and  possess  the  land.  But  can  we  ever  go 
up  until  we  cast  ourselves  loose  from  the  entanglements 
of  the  world,  and,  in  reality  as  well  as  in  form,  consecrate 
our  whole  selves  and  all  that  we  possess  to  the  service  of 
Christ?  May  God  enable  us  to  reflect  upon  the  solemnity 
of  our  position  ;  may  Zion  arise  and  shake  herself  from 
the  dust  and  put  on  her  beautiful  garments ;  and  thus 
may  the  will  of  our  Father  who  is  heaven  be  done  on 

earth  even  as  it  is  in  heaven. 

8* 


SERMON    V. 

SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC    OPINION. 

But  they,  measuring  themselves  by  themselves,  and  comparing  themselves 
among  themselves,  are  not  wise. — 2  Corinthians,  s.  12 

It  is  too  obvious  to  need  illustration,  that  upon  our 
social  nature  a  large  part  of  our  happiness  essentially  de- 
pends. We  become  members  of  civil  society  as  soon  as 
we  enter  upon  our  existence,  and  our  right  to  its  pro- 
tection and  care  is  universally  acknowledged.  We  in- 
stinctively concede  to  all  born  of  woman  the  privileges 
which  belong  to  humanity,  and  guarantee  even  to  a  help- 
less infant  the  free  enjoyment  of  them  all.  This  is  evi- 
dently one  of  the  noblest  impulses  of  our  common  nature, 
and  that  heart  must  be  morally  diseased  in  which  it  does 
not  beat  with,  the  power  of  an  irresistible  passion.  On 
our  instinctive  social  and  moral  elements  rest  the  whole 
fabric  of  government  and  law.  Remove  these,  and  though 
we  might  be  gregarious  we  could  never  form  a  common- 
wealth, and  the  physical  force  of  the  individual  would 
confer  the  only  authority  known  among  men. 

Allied  to  the  social  element  of  our  nature  are  various 
accessory  impulses  of  acknowledged  power.  Among  these 
may  be  reckoned  the  simple  love  of  companionship.     A 


SLAVEKY    TO     PUBLIC     OPINION.  179 

sane  human  being  instinctively  shrinks  from  being  alone. 
Solitary  confinement  for  life  is  deemed  by  many  more 
terrible  than  death.  So  abhorrent  is  this  condition  to  our 
nature  that  it  frequently  terminates  in  insanity.  The 
conception  of  an  intelligent  being  condemned  to  eternal 
banishment  from  every  living  thing  is  one  of  the  most 
terrific  that  the  imagination  can  create. 

Intimately  associated  with  the  love  of  companionship 
is  the  desire  for  the  esteem  and  affection  of  our  fellow- 
men.  We  all  desire  our  companions  to  adopt  our  prac- 
tices and  coincide  with  our  sentiments.  The  more  dis- 
tinctly we  observe  in  others  this  moral  parallelism  with 
ourselves,  the  more  readily  do  we  form  acquaintances,  and 
the  more  rapidly  does  acquaintance  ripen  into  intimacy. 
It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  painful  to  find  ourselves  segre- 
gated in  feelings,  sentiments,  and  action  from  our  fel- 
lows ;  and  when,  in  fact,  a  dissimilarity  exists,  our  first 
impulse  is  to  conceal  it,  lest,  by  chance,  we  should  forfeit 
somewhat  of  their  good  opinion.  Our  Saviour  alludes  to 
this  as  the  cause  of  much  of  the  pain  which  would  at- 
tend upon  a  profession  of  his  religion  :  they  shall  sepa- 
rate you  from  their  company,  and  reproach  you,  and  cast 
out  your  name  as  evil.  He,  on  various  occasions,  takes 
special  care  to  strengthen  them  against  this  form  of  per- 
secution as  one  which  it  would  be  hard  to  bear  and  dif- 
ficult to  withstand. 

It  is,  however,  evident  that  this  accessory  of  our  social 
nature  is  wisely  implanted  within  us.     From  this  univer- 


180  SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC    OPINION. 

sal  impulse  arise  many  of  the  choicest  amenities  of  daily 
intercourse.  We  are  thus  reciprocally  guarded  against 
the  infliction  of  unnecessary  pain  ;  and  hence  an  incal- 
culable amount  of  mental  disquietude  is  banished  from 
the  earth.  He  who  disregards  this  impulse  of  his  nature, 
and  derives  pleasure  from  collision  with  the  opinions  and 
practices  of  his  neighbors,  soon  finds  himself  in  a  condi- 
tion in  which  collision  is  impossible.  Men  gradually 
withdraw  from  him,  and  leave  him  in  the  undisturbed 
enjoyment  of  his  cherished  opinions.  From  this  love  of 
esteem,  and  the  unwillingness  to  forfeit  it,  flow  ah  the 
courtesies  of  refined  society,  the  laws  of  universal  good 
breeding,  and  that  studiousness  to  avoid  giving  unneces- 
sary offense,  which  should  ever  regulate  our  intercourse 
with  our  fellow-men  of  every  rank,  of  every  position,  of 
every  degree  of  refinement,  and  every  grade  of  social  cul- 
tivation. 

But  while  all  this  is  acknowledged,  it  is  apparent  that 
this  excellent  tendency  of  our  nature  may  easily  be  car- 
ried to  excess.  Its  foundations  are  laid  in  the  relations 
which  men  sustain  to  each  other,  as  beings  endowed  with 
the  same  sensibilities,  and  invested  with  the  same  in- 
alienable rights.  Our  relations  to  the  Creator  depend 
upon  very  different  principles,  and  it  is  essential  to  'the 
perfection  of  our  moral  character  that  every  impulse 
should  be  subject  to  the  love  and  obedience  which  we 
owe  to  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  If  this  love  of 
companionship,  this   longing  for   the   good   opinion   of 


SLAVERY     TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  181 

others,  is  permitted  to  stifle  the  monitions  of  conscience, 
and  paralyze  our  love  of  rectitude ;  if  it  lead  us  to  say 
what  we  know  to  be  false,  or  do  what  we  know  to  be 
wrong;  if  it  cause  us  to  ignore  the  government  of  God, 
and  thus,  in  practice,  exclude  the  Most  High  from  the 
government  of  his  universe,  then  I  think  we  all  must 
allow  that  the  love  of  human  approbation  has  carried 
us  somewhat  too  far.  This  conflict  between  impulse  and 
obligation  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  Saviour. 
How  can  ye  believe,  said  he,  who  receive  honor  one  of 
another,  and  not  the  honor  which  cometh  from  God 
only  ? 

That  an  antagonism  between  our  moral  principles  and 
our  love  of  human  esteem  is  likely  to  arise  in  a  world 
lying  in  wickedness,  is  sufficiently  apparent.  The  fool 
hath  said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God ;  and  we  are  every- 
where surrounded  by  men  who  are  practically  guilty  of 
this  precise  folly.  The  most  comprehensive  charity  must 
admit  that  men  are,  in  general,  lovers  of  pleasure,  of 
power,  of  wealth,  of  social  position,  rather  than  lovers  of 
God.  From  the  principle  of  companionship  to  which  we 
have  alluded,  they  desire  all  men  to  bow  down  to  their 
idols,  and  worship  the  images  which  they  have  set  up. 
Nor  is  this  quite  all.  Conscience,  though  stupefied  by 
sin,  is  painfully  aroused  by  a  living  testimony  to  the 
frivolity  and  wickedness  of  a  life  without  God.  We 
naturally  turn  away  from  that  which  gives  us  pain,  and 
hence  he  who  resolutely  obeys  God  will  frequently  find 


182  SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

himself  in  a  small  minority  ;  it  will  "be  well  if  he  is  not, 
like  the  prophet  of  old,  apparently  alone.  In  addition  to 
this  negative  distress,  he  will  frequently  he  called  upon 
to  suffer  from  the  malice  aroused  by  his  determined  op- 
position to  the  practices  prevalent  around  him.  It  is 
thus  that  every  step  in  our  probation  on  earth  becomes  a 
test  of  moral  character.  The  question  is  arising  every 
day,  and  many  times  in  the  day,  shall  we  obey  Grod 
rather  than  man  ?  The  authority  of  the  Creator  and 
of  the  creature  are  thus  set  over  one  against  the  other. 
We  must  decide  which  of  the  two  we  will  obey,  and  his 
servants  we  are  whom  we  obey,  whether  of  sin  unto 
death,  or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness. 

It  is  thus  that  the  love  of  companionship  tempts  us  to 
disobey  God.  But  it  frequently  goes  much  further.  We 
even  plead  companionship  in  evil  as  a  justification  of 
evil  itself.  If  our  moral  convictions  are  at  variance  with 
our  conduct,  we  silence  the  voice  of  conscience  by  the 
reflection  that  we  are  no  worse  than  others.  If  Grod 
forbids  the  deed  which  we  are  about  to  do,  we  do  it 
nevertheless,  replying  to  our  Maker,  that  all  the  world 
does  it  also.  Thus,  what  we  would  confess  to  be  wrong 
if  we  did  it  alone,  we  claim  to  be  right  if  we  do  it  in 
company  and  by  concert.  We  seem  to  suppose  that 
though  it  would  be  madness  for  one  man  to  contend  with 
Omnipotence,  a  multitude  of  men  may  do  it  with  impu- 
nity. At  last,  having  silenced  the  monitions  of  con- 
science, we  yield  ourselves  up  to  the  current  of  public 


SLAVERY     TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  183 

opinion,  and  without  a  moral  struggle  float  onward 
towards  that  eternity  in  which  we  and  all  born  of  woman 
will  shortly  be  ingulfed. 

It  may  perhaps  surprise  us  to  observe  how  universal 
and  all  pervading  is  this  soul-destructive  tendency.  It 
meets  us  everywhere,  and  meets  us  at  all  times  during 
our  progress  through  life.  It  spreads  its  snare  for  us  as 
we  leave  the  cradle,  and  follows  closely  on  our  track  until 
we  step  into  the  grave. 

The  little  child  is  no  sooner  capable  of  holding  inter- 
course with  the  intelligent  beings  around  him  than  he 
finds  himself  enveloped  in  this  unhealthy  moral  atmos- 
phere. He  hears,  in  the  nursery,  as  the  justification  for 
wrong  doing,  that  some  one  else  did  it  also.  He  quickly 
learns  the  lesson,  and,  when  conscious  of  fault,  enters  the 
same  plea  in  exculpation.  When  convicted  of  miscon- 
duct, he  has  only  to  show  that  brothers  and  sisters  have 
been  equally  guilty,  and  it  seems  as  though  his  innocence 
were  established,  and  that  the  parents  whose  precepts 
he  has  violated  can  accuse  him  of  no  wrong.  Thus 
was  it  at  the  beginning.  The  Lord  God  said,  Hast  thou 
eaten  of  the  tree  whereof  I  commanded  thee  that  thou 
shouldest  not  eat  ?  and  the  man  said,  the  woman  whom 
thou  gavest  me  to  be  with  me,  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and 
I  did  eat. 

The  instructions  of  parents  may  in  some  measure  have 
corrected  these  evil  tendencies,  and  the  young  immortal 
may  have  learned  to  make  some  accurate  moral  distinc- 


184  SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

tions,  when  a  new  world  opens  upon  him,  the  world  of 
the  school  room.  He  soon  finds  that  the  children  around 
him  have  very  different  notions  of  right  and  wrong  from 
those  which  he  learned  at  home.  Words  reach  his  ear 
which  he  has  been  taught  to  consider  wicked  and  de- 
grading. In  the  sports  in  which  he  engages,  treachery 
and  deceit  may  form  a  part  of  the  amusement.  Tyranny 
over  the  weak  and  defenseless  is  the  rule  rather  than  the 
exception.  All  this,  however,  must  be  kept  secret  from 
parents  and  instructors,  and  if  this  can  be  done  only 
by  prevarication  and  falsehood,  it  matters  not ;  every 
scholar  is  bound,  right  or  wrong,  to  shield  the  rest  from 
punishment.  If  the  boy  questions  the  right  of  all  this, 
he  is  told  that  the  rules  of  the  family  and  the  rules  of 
the  school  are  very  different  things  ;  that  there  is  no 
wrong  in  the  acts  which  he  has  considered  wicked,  for  all 
the  boys  do  them  ;  and,  in  a  word,  unless  he  conform  to 
the  manners  of  the  society  in  which  he  lives,  he  will  be 
treated  as  a  traitor,  fit  only  to  be  the  butt  of  boyish 
ridicule  and  the  object  of  daily  annoyance.  The  young 
immortal  hesitates.  There  is  placed  before  him,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  teaching  of  parents  and  the  sanctions  of 
the  Bible,  and,  on  the  other,  the  maxims  of  Satan  en- 
forced by  all  the  power  of  boyish  public  opinion.  This 
is  a  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  a  child.  He  may 
with  noble  heroism  stand  firmly  for  truth,  and  honesty 
and  God,  and  thus  from  the  first  build  up  his  character 
in  righteousness.     Too  frequently,  association  with  wick- 


SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  185 

edness  inflicts  a  stain  hardly  ever  erased.  His  mind  is 
divided  in  its  affection  between  truth  and  error.  He  is 
capable  of  being  moved  in  either  direction  by  the  force  of 
the  public  opinion  around  him.  His  character  at  home 
and  at  school  are  strangely  at  variance.  His  future, 
henceforth,  depends  not  on  himself,  but  upon  the  acci- 
dental associations  into  which  he  may  be  thrown.  This 
is  almost  the  best  that  can  be  hoped  for.  It  is  well  if  he 
has  not  by  degrees  become  partaker  in  every  form  of  evil, 
ready  to  inculcate  defiance  of  principles  upon  the  inno- 
cent stranger,  and  proud  of  being  a  ringleader  in  every 
form  of  boyish  depravity.  Thus  is  it,  that  so  early  in 
life  the  love  of  companionship  and  fear  of  public  opinion 
have  planted  within  his  soul  the  seeds  of  treachery, 
violence,  selfishness,  and  thorough  dissoluteness  of  prin- 
ciple. 

The  youth  thus  instructed  enters  upon  another  stage 
of  his  career.  He  is  removed  from  home  to  a  more  ad- 
vanced institution  of  learning.  Under  the  discipline  which 
he  has  left,  the  evil  tendencies  which  surrounded  him 
wrere  checked  and  frequently  arrested  by  the  eye  of  the 
instructor  in  the  school  room,  and  the  precept  and  ex- 
ample of  parents  by  the  fireside.  Domestic  religion  may 
daily  have  recalled  to  his  recollection  the  teachings  of 
the  Bible,  and  conscience  thus  quickened  may  have  held 
him  back  from  the  grosser  forms  of  sin.  He  was  con- 
tinually receiving  from  his  parents  affecting  proofs  of 
self-sacrificing  love.     Brothers  and  sisters  were  watching 


186  SLAVERY     TO    PUBLIC    OPINION. 

liis  progress  with  trembling  anxiety,  and  he  could  not  be 
unaware  that  they  all  were  looking  forward  to  his  success, 
as  one  of  the  brightest  spots  in  their  anticipations  of  the 
future.  These  redeeming  influences  have  not  been  with- 
out their  effect.  Though  his  heart,  under  the  discipline  of 
the  school  room,  has  in  many  places  grown  callous,  there 
remain  some  fibres  within  it,  which  still  palpitate  with 
generous  emotion.  The  word  home  still  exerts  its  magi- 
cal power  over  his  affections,  and  he  would  shrink  from 
giving  pain  to  those  who  love  him  so  tenderly.  But  now 
his  condition  is,  in  many  respects,  dissimilar.  The  home 
of  bis  childhood,  hallowed  by  so  many  delightful  associa- 
tions, is  exchanged  for  a  residence  in  a  college.  He  is  to 
be  separated  for  months,  it  may  be  for  years,  from  all 
who  love  him  best.  He  is  no  longer  a  witness  to  their 
self-denials.  He  no  more  hears  their  words  of  encour- 
agement and  affection.  Left  to  his  own  guidance,  with 
the  means  provided  by  parental  love,  he  is  to  work  out 
his  own  destiny  in  the  new  world  upon  which  he  has  just 
entered. 

At  first  a  distressing  feeling  of  loneliness  settles 
heavily  upon  him.  He  instinctively  craves  society  of 
some  sort,  and  soon  finds  that  this  craving  can  easily  be 
satisfied.  His  acquaintance  is  quickly  sought  by  older 
students,  who  soon  initiate  him  into  all  the  mysteries  of 
the  new  society.  It  is  not  long  before  he  finds  that 
many  lessons  are  to  be  learned,  besides  those  specified  in 
the  published  course  of  study.     There   exists  here  an 


SLAVERY     TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  187 

unwritten  code  of  laws,  in  many  respects  quite  unlike 
that  with  which  he  has  been  previously  acquainted.  He 
learns  that  one  law  governs  his  intercourse  with  students, 
and  another  his  intercourse  with  instructors.  To  lie  to 
a  student  is  mean,  to  lie  to  an  officer  is  innocent,  it 
may  even  be  honorable.  The  principles  which  regulate 
his  conduct  to  students  are  very  different  from  those 
which  regulate  his  conduct  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  His 
associates  form  a  society  by  themselves,  governed  by  such 
laws  as  its  public  opinion  may  enact,  and  right  or  wrong 
they  are  bound  to  stand  by  each  other.  Deceit,  dishon- 
esty and  malice  are  only  disreputable  in  our  intercourse 
with  the  protected  class.  The  grosser  crimes  affect  un- 
favorably no  man's  standing  provided  they  are  com- 
mitted in  comparative  secrecy,  and' to  conceal  them  from 
the  uninitiated  every  man  holds  himself  unreservedly 
committed. 

The  young  man,  if  he  be  not  thoroughly  corrupt,  is  for 
a  time  bewildered.  He  can  not  comprehend  these  dis- 
tinctions of  moral  obligation.  He  has  been  taught  that 
right  acknowledged  no  modification  of  circumstances,  but 
was  pure  and  unchangeable  as  the  throne  of  G-od.  He  had 
always  believed  that  duplicity  was  mean,  that  deceit  was 
contemptible,  that  the  very  suspicion  of  falsehood  inflic- 
ted on  the  character  a  stain  like  a  wound,  that  vicious 
pleasure  was  a  sin  against  God,  and  that  to  abuse  the 
self-denying  love  of  parents  was  a  crime  of  which  none 
but  the  most  abandoned  could  be  guilty.     If  he  remon- 


188  SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

strates  against  some  act  of  meanness  or  wickedness,  he 
finds  to  his  surprise,  that  his  remonstrance  is  seconded 
by  no  one.    He  is  told  that  such  things  can  not  be  wrong, 
for  all  the  fellows  do  it ;  and  he  learns  that  this  announce- 
ment is  clothed  with  a  power  which  he  can  scarcely  com- 
prehend.    Those  antiquated  notions  belong  to  a  state  of 
society  quite  unlike  that  into  which  he  has  now  entered. 
Honorable   men  here   acknowledge  no  laws  but   those 
enacted  by  the  public  opinion  of  the  little  world  around 
them.    He  observes  the  men  by  whom  this  public  opinion 
is  created,  and  he  finds  them  in  general  to  be  the  idle, 
the  ignorant,  the  dissolute  and  the  profane.     He,  how- 
ever, soon  learns  that  this  public  opinion  is  a  fixed  fact, 
and  that  its  origin  is  not  to  be  too  closely  investigated. 
He  is  moreover  assured  that  everybody  submits  to  it, 
that  it  punishes  with  isolation  and  multiplied  annoyance 
the  rebel  against  its  authority,  and  that  he  had  better  be 
careful  how  he  sets  its  mandates  at  defiance.     He  begins 
to  reflect  seriously  upon  his  position.     Here  is  the  very 
crisis  of  his  destiny.     If  strong  in  manly  virtue  he  re- 
solves to  hold  fast  to  his  integrity,  and  acknowledge  no 
higher  law  than  the  law  of  God  ;  if  rising  to  the  dignity 
of  a  disciple  of  Christ  he  scorns  the  enticements  of  sin 
and   despises   the   threatenings   of  sinners  ;    if  looking 
calmly  at  all  that  may  come  upon  him  he  determines  on 
no  occasion,  be  it  great  or  small,  to  swerve  from   his 
allegiance  to  truth  and  honor  and  the  fear  of  God,  he  has 
determined  his  character  for  life.     No  severer  trial  in  the 


SLAVERY     TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  189 

future,  probably,  awaits  him.  No  temptation  will  hence- 
forth take  him  at  a  disadvantage.  His  path  is  onward 
and  upward.  With  the  blessing  of  God,  his  success  is  as 
certain  as  his  life.  He  can  not  fail,  for  he  holds  in  his 
own  hands  the  power  of  being  victorious.  He  has  van- 
quished the  vanquisher  of  millions,  by  defying  public 
opinion  when  it  is  a  defie/of  the  Most  High  God.  Let 
him  pursue  this  path  to  the  end  of  life  and  he  may,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  leave  an  inheritance  for  humanity 
which  they  will  not  readily  consign  to  oblivion.  But  if 
he  take  the  opposite  course,  if  yielding  to  the  love  of 
companionship,  and  quailing  before  the  frown  of  a  vicious 
public  opinion  he  first  temporizes,  then  surrenders  prin- 
ciple in  things  that  seem  ambiguous,  then  associates  with 
the  vicious  and  depraved,  and,  at  last,  silencing  the  voice 
of  conscience,  acknowledges  no  law  but  that  imposed 
upon  him  by  the  men  whom  he  despises  ;  every  manly 
and  generous  sentiment  will  soon  be  cleanly  scooped  out 
of  his  heart.  Friends  on  earth  and  angels  in  heaven  will 
weep  over  the  change  that  has  passed  upon  the  lost  soul. 
He  left  his-  father's  house  a  worshiper  of  God,  pure  in 
principle,  virtuous  in  conduct  ;  looking  forward  to  the 
future  buoyant  in  hope  and  confident  of  success.  He 
returns  thither  shipwrecked  in  faith,  beggared  in  hope, 
conscious  of  the  degradation  which  is  written  on  his 
flushed  forehead  and  in  his  treacherous  eye,  the  fawning 
and  impious  worshiper  of  a  public  opinion  which  though 
he  servilely  obeys  he  can  not  but  thoroughly  despise. 


190  SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

If  leaving  the  snares  which  beset  the  path  of  the 
young,  we  observe  the  pursuits  of  maturer  life,  we  may 
not  unlikely  fall  upon  similar  experiences.  Were  we 
invisibly  to  pass  through  the  marts  of  trade,  we  might 
probably  meet  with  much  that  would  deeply  interest  a 
thoughtful  mind.  We  might  perhaps  learn  that  light 
weight  and  short  measure  were'  in  many  cases  indispensa- 
ble to  profitable  business,  that  to  tell  a  lie  to  a  customer 
is  no  untruth,  for  he  need  not  believe  it  unless  he  chooses, 
that  selling  a  vicious  adulteration  at  the  price  and  in  the 
place  of  a  genuine  article  is  not  dishonest  if  people  are 
willing  to  buy  it,  that  to  defraud  the  revenue  is  no  wrong, 
if  it  be  not  discovered,  that  a  false  oath  at  the  custom 
house  involves  us  in  no  guilt,  if  a  clerk  is  willing  to  per- 
jure himself  for  us,  that  to  monopolize  the  necessaries  of 
life  in  order  to  fleece  the  community  and  double  the 
price  of  the  poor  man's  loaf  is  one  of  the  legitimate  uses 
of  capital,  and  that  to  dupe  the  unfledged  in  the  stock 
market  is  nothing  more  than  a  pleasing  divertisement. 
We  might  wonder  at  all  this,  and  be  surprised  to  behold 
engaged  in  it  men  who  would  grieve  to  be  suspected  of 
dishonor.  Were  we,  however,  in  a  moment  of  calm  re- 
flection to  ask  them  whether  such  things  are  right,  the 
answer  would  probably  be,  why,  not  exactly  right,  but 
what  is  the  use  of  talking,  for  every  body  does  it  ?  Thus 
men  seem  to  think  that  what  every  one  would  acknowl- 
edge to  be  wrong  if  it  were  done  by  a  single  individual, 


SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  191 

every  one  believes  to  be  innocent  if  it  only  be  done  by 
the  multitude. 

Should  we  turn  now  to  public  life,  one  might  possibly 
there  also  find  some  rare  examples  of  this  power  of  sin. 
Could  we  listen  to  the  private  discourse  or  the  more  pri- 
vate thoughts  of  the  men  who  devote  themselves  to  the 
service  of  their  country,  we  might  possibly  learn  that 
discourse  about  political  principles  was  designed  only  for 
the  uninitiated,  that  patriotism  was  a  word  useful  only  for 
a  political  canvass,  that  a  man  liable  to  be  troubled  with 
conscientious  scruples,  was  a  very  useless,  or  as  it  is  said, 
a  very  impracticable  member  of  a  party,  that  on  ques- 
tions involving  the  dearest  interests  of  humanity,  a  man 
may,  without  the  least  offence,  take  any  side  that  prom- 
ises him  a  majority,  that  he  may  change  his  opinions  as 
often  as  necessity  requires,  provided  always  that  it  is  not 
done  clumsily,  that  he  can  never  expect  to  rise  to  power 
unless  he  loves  party  better  than  principle,  or  even  per- 
sonal honor,  and,  in  a  word,  that  religion,  truth,  morality 
are  one  thing,  and  politics  quite  another.  We  should 
thus  learn  that  there  is  a  large  class  of  actions,  ac- 
tions affecting  the  highest  interests  not  only  of  ourselves, 
our  children,  our  fellow-citizens,  but  the  interests,  social, 
moral  and  religious,  of  the  whole  human  race,  in  which 
it  is  innocent  for  us  to  ignore  every  principle  derived 
either  from  the  love  of  God  or  the  love  of  our  neighbor. 
If  we  press  this  consideration  upon  men,  what  reply 
shall  we  probably  elicit  ?     They  will  tell  us,  not  that  it 


192  SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

is  right,  bat  that  it  has  been  so  always  and  every  where, 
and  that  now  especially  such  is  the  universal  practice. 
It  would  not  be  surprising  if  they  should  turn  upon  us 
and  ask,  who  would  be  such  a  fool  as  to  be  in  a  minority 
for  the  sake  of  an  idea,  or  sacrifice  his  political  prospects 
for  a  barren  adherence  to  impracticable  rectitude. 

But  if  leaving  the  men  of  the  world,  we  turn  to  the 
church  of  Christ,  shall  we  find  that  even  here  the  fear  of 
God  has  triumphed  over  the  fear  of  man  ?  By  observing 
the  communicants  at  the  sacramental  table,  we  find 
those  who  profess  the  name  of  Jesus  intermingled  with 
other  men  in  all  the  departments  of  active  life.  They 
are  to  be  seen  among  students,  professional  men,  mer- 
chants, mechanics,  manufacturers,  brokers,  and^oliticians 
of  every  grade  and  every  political  party.  Should  we  ask 
them  whether  in  their  several  relations  they  make  it  their 
first  concern  to  obey  the  Master,  they  would  probably  in- 
quire with  some  astonishment  whether  we  suppose  that 
the  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ  are  to  be  understood  liter- 
ally. Should  we  modestly  intimate  that  Christ  spoke 
very  plainly,  they  would  inform  us  that  to  obey  the  law 
of  Christ  strictly,  would  separate  them  from  all  men,  that 
the  course  which  they  pursue  can  not  be  wrong,  for  every 
body  pursues  it,  and  that,  upon  the  whole,  it  is  certainly 
better  to  do  a  little  wrong,  than  by  shutting  ourselves 
out  from  the  world,  lose  all  our  influence  over  it. 

But  let  us  open  our  eyes  upon  the  men  around  us  who 
claim  to  be,  by  way  of  eminence,  the  world.     What  are 


SLAVERY    TO     PUBLIC     OPINION.  193 

the  gods  which  these  immortal  beings  worship  ?  They 
are  worshipers  of  pleasure  more  than  lovers  of  God.  They 
bow  down  before  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the 
eye,  and  the  pride  of  life.  The  objects  for  which  they 
live  are  the  various  forms  of  sensual  enjoyment,  political 
power,  social  position,  and  luxurious  display.  They  con- 
gregate by  thousands  in  those  resorts  where  vanity  may 
be  satiated,  if  satiated  it  can  be,  where  the  senses  are 
stimulated  to  intense  excitement,  and  where  fashion 
scoffs  at  the  prudery  which  shuns  the  appearance  of 
evil.  Every  one  knows  that  this  ceaseless  pursuit  of  sen- 
sual pleasure  banishes  from  the  soul  every  thought  of 
eternity,  benumbs  our  moral  sensibilities,  and  renders  us 
powerless  to  resist  the  temptations  which  it  spreads 
everywhere  around  us.  Nothing  can  be  more  at  variance 
with  a  heavenly  mind  than  a  life  of  thoughtless  worldli- 
ness.  But  are  the  men  and  women  who  avow  that  they 
are  living  for  this  world  the  only  worshipers  at  the  shrine 
of  fashionable  sensuality  ?  Alas  !  too  often  shall  we  see 
in  the  midst  of  this  giddy  throng,  enjoying  its  pleasures 
to  the  uttermost,  many  of  the  professed  disciples  of  the 
lowly,  cross-bearing,  crucified  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  You 
ask,  Can  such  things  delight  a  soul  that  has  been  trans- 
formed into  the  image  of  Christ  ?  Can  these  childish 
vanities  satisfy  affections  that  are  placed  on  the  eternal 
God  ?  Do  the  followers  of  the  Messiah  find  the  print 
of  his  footsteps  here,  and  did  we  not  see  them  in  the  gar- 
den with  him  ?     When  we  press  these  questions  on  such 

9 


194  SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION^ 

disciples  as  these,  we  are  told  that  they  would  lose  caste 
unless  they  followed  the  examples  of  those  who  hold  the 
social  position  after  which  they  aspire,  and  heside  this,  it 
is  all  perfectly  innocent,  for  they  find  associated  with 
them  Christians  of  every  denomination  ;  and  yet  more, 
conformity  to  the  world  is  necessary  in  order  to  render  the 
religion  of  Christ  attractive  to  the  giddy  and  thoughtless. 
We  urge  upon  men  of  the  world  the  saying  of  Jesus,  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  again  he  can  not  see  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  they  tell  us  they  can  not  see  the  necessity 
of  any  moral  change,  for  these  regenerated  men  are  in  no 
respect  different  from  themselves.  Thus  Christians  dis- 
obey Christ  because  men  of  the  world  do  it;  and  the 
men  of  the  world  disobey  him  because  Christians  set  them 
the  example. 

But  let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  and  ask  where  do  we 
now  find  ourselves  ?  We  have  only  to  generalize  this 
principle,  and  whereunto  will  it  lead  us  ?  The  voice  of 
conscience  is  silenced,  the  distinction  between  honor  and 
meanness,  between  virtue  and  vice,  between  right  and 
wrong  is  abolished  ;  the  law  of  God  is  trampled  in  the 
dust ;  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth  has  no  longer  any 
jurisdiction*;  and  all  this  is  accomplished  by  the  simplest 
possible  process.  Nothing  else  is  needed  than  that  you 
and  I,  the  creatures  of  yesterday,  declare  that  though  we 
defy  God  and  crucify  his  Son  afresh,  we  have  nothing  to 
fear,  for  we  do  it  by  companies  and  we  do  it  in  concert. 

But  amidst  all  this  flimsy  folly  and  audacious  wicked- 


SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION.  195 

ness,  God  has  not  left  himself  without  a  witness.  He 
has  taken  special  means  to  caution  us  against  this  wide- 
spreading  delusion.  If  there  be  a  single  child  of  Adam 
beguiled  by  this  miserable  sophistry,  it  will  not  be  on 
account  of  ignorance  that  could  not  be  dispelled,  but  be- 
cause he  has  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because 
his  deeds  are  evil. 

In  the  first  place,  reason  and  conscience  abundantly 
teach  us  that  no  relation  whatever  exists  between  many 
and  few,  and  innocence  and  guilt.  Eight  and  wrong,  in- 
nocence and  guilt,  depend  on  the  moral  relations  of  the 
parties,  and  not  upon  the  number  of  the  actors.  If  ten 
men  lie,  each  one  of  them  is  an  individual  liar  ;  nor  is 
the  matter  altered  if  they  agree  to  the  same  lie,  and  all 
unite  in  affirming  it  to  be  the  truth.  If  twenty  men 
agree  together  to  do  a  mean  thing,  every  one  of  them  is 
individually  despicable.  If  a  hundred  men  are  false  to 
their  country,  every  one  of  them  is  a  traitor,  and  as  an 
individual  must  he  answer  for  it.  I  do  not  deny  that 
companionship  and  concert  may,  in  some  respects,  modify 
the  character  of  a  moral  action.  If  a  man  act  alone  he 
may  act  thoughtlessly,  and  from  sudden  and  ungovern- 
able impulse  ;  but  if  a  number  of  men  agree  together  to 
do  an  act,  they  must  do  it  deliberately.  If  they  organize 
themselves  into  an  association  to  do  it,  they  manifest  a 
still  more  settled  determination.  Thus  piracy  is  always 
held  to  be  more  atrocious  than  murder  ;  vand  an  organized 


196  SLAVERY     TO    PUBLIC     OPINION 

banditti  deserves  more  condign  punishment  than  an  in- 
dividual thief. 

But  lest  this  should  not  be  enough,  God,  in  the  reve- 
lation which  he  has  given  us,  has  made  known  his  moral 
attributes,  and  the  relations  which  we  sustain  to  him. 
He  is  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  all,  the  Legislator, 
and  rightful  Governor,  and  Proprietor  of  the  universe. 
He  justly  claims  of  all  his  intelligent  creatures  universal 
obedience,  the  obedience  which  springs  from  boundless 
gratitude  and  illimitable  love.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength.  All  other 
things  are  created,  God  alone  is  the  Creator,  holy,  just, 
true,  all  compassionate  and  all  merciful.  The  greatest 
crime  of  which  it  is  possible  for  us  to  conceive,  is  for  a 
creature  on  any  account,  or  for  any  reason,  or  under  any 
inducement,  to  disobey  God.  What  then  must  be  the 
guilt  of  setting  aside  the  authority  of  God  by  deliberate 
consent,  and  installing  in  its  place  the  opinions  and  ex- 
ample of  men,  nay  of  men  even  weaker  and  more  wicked 
than  ourselves.  It  is  exchanging  the  true  God  for  a  lie, 
and  worshiping  and  serving  the  creature  rather  than  the 
Creator  who  is  blessed  forevermore. 

In  his  written  word  God  has  left  us  some  impressive 
lessons  on  the  subject  which  we  are  now  considering.  In 
the  early  history  of  our  race,  the  worshipers  of  the  Most 
High  had  followed  the  examples  of  the  ungodly,  until 
all  flesh  had  corrupted  its  way,  and  the  earth  was  rilled 


SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  19T 

with  violence.  Century  after  century  bad  the  infection 
spread,  until  only  one  family  remained  which  held  fast  to 
its  integrity.  It  was  then  that  Jehovah  interfered,  and, 
saving  only  eight  persons,  overwhelmed  with  a  flood  the 
world  of  the  ungodly.  Though  the  whole  race  was 
united  in  companionship  in  evil,  the  judgment  of  God 
slumbered  not,  but  brought  upon  every  individual  sinner 
unexpected  and  remediless  destruction. 

At  a  later  period,  the  cities  of  the  plain  had  sunk  down 
in  loathsome  sensuality.  A  preacher  was  sent  to  reprove 
them  for  their  wickedness  and  warn  them  of  their  danger. 
To  all  his  remonstrances  every  individual  was  able  to 
plead  that  there  could  be  nothing  very  wrong  in  their 
conduct,  for  no  man  was  in  particular  more  corrupt  than 
his  neighbor.  One  family  alone  was  exempt  from  this 
general  pollution  ;  the  rest  had  become  so  preeminent  in 
wickedness,  that  their  name  has  become  a  by-word  to  the 
ages.  At  last  their  cry  came  up  to  heaven,  and  no  inter- 
cession could  save  them.  A  deluge  of  wrath  swept  them 
away,  and,  with  the  exception  of  this  single  family,  they 
all  sunk  into  the  burning  abyss,  and  are  set  forth  as  an 
example  suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire. 

Nor  are  the  Scriptures  wanting  in  examples  of  those 
who,  in  the  face  of  contumely  and  persecution  unto  death, 
have  scorned  companionship  with  sinners,  and  boldly 
avowed  their  allegiance  to  God.  We  read  of  Moses,  who 
chose  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God, 
than  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season ;  esteeming 


198  SLAVEEY     TO    PUBLIC     OPINION. 

the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  all  the  treas- 
ures of  Egypt.  We  are  told  of  the  three  noble  Hebrews, 
who,  in  sight  of  the  furnace  heated  sevenfold,  calmly  re- 
plied to  an  Oriental  despot,  Be  it  known  unto  thee,  0 
king,  we  will  not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the  golden 
image  which  thou  hast  set  up.  We  have  the  example 
of  Daniel,  who,  when  the  decree  was  signed  forbidding 
the  worship  of  any  God  under  pain  of  a  dreadful  death, 
and  when  a  whole  realm  was  bowing  submissively  to  the 
blasphemous  enactment,  went  into  his  house,  and  his 
windows  being  open  to  Jerusalem,  kneeled  upon  his  knees 
three  times  a  day,  and  prayed  and  gave  thanks  before 
his  God  as  he  did  aforetime.  The  Holy  Spirit  has  set 
before  us  such  instances  for  the  imitation  of  all  the  sons 
of  God.  Nay  more,  they  teach  us  that  when  we  refuse 
at  all  hazards  to  becor»  oartakers  in  sin,  we  are  then 
the  objects  of  the  special  care  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 
We  may,  it  is  true,  be  surrounded  with  hosts  of  the  un- 
godly, but  more  are  they  that  are  with  us  than  those  that 
be  with  our  enemies  ;  for  the  mountain  on  which  we  stand 
is  encompassed  with  chariots  of  fire  and  horses  of  fire, 
sent  from  on  high  to  be  our  invisible  but  mighty  protec- 
tors. Nothing  can  harm  us  if  we  be  followers  of  that 
which  is  good. 

But  all  human  examples  pale  in  the  presence  of  that 
illustrious  example  which  came  down  to  us  from  heaven. 
The  Messiah  visited  our  earth  not  only  to  make  an 
atonement  for  our  transgressions,  but  to  teach   us  how 


SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION.  199 

we  should  live  in  the  midst  of  a  world  in  rebellion 
against  God.  Observe  the  position  which  he  chose  for 
the  accomplishment  of  his  object.  Was  he  surrounded 
by  millions  bowing  before  him  in  lowly  adoration  ?  Did 
he  by  conforming  to  the  manners  of  Jew  or  Gentile,  ally 
himself  to  the  wealthy,  the  powerful,  the  intellectual,  or 
the  refined  ?  Did  he  by  pandering  to  the  vices  of  the  * 
multitude  gain  over  the  masses  to  his  cause  ?  Did  the 
fear  of  standing  alone  ever  move  him  to  adopt  the  j)rin- 
ciples  or  conform  to  the  practices,  of  sinners  ?  Did  he 
ever  quail  before  the  tyranny  of  public  opinion  in  re- 
bellion against  God  ?  You  know  his  history.  -He  stood 
up  alone,  and  resisted  unto  death  the  whole  power  of  a 
world  lying  in  wickedness.  No  temptation  could  allure, 
no  danger  could  alarm  him.  Neither  the  opinions  nor 
examples  of  earth's  teeming  millions  ever  moved  him 
an  hair's  breadth  from  the  line  of  perfect  love  to  God,  and 
perfect  charity  to  man.  No  association  either  with  the 
lofty  or  the  lowly  ever  palsied  his  tongue  when  the  cause 
of  truth,  or  piety,  or  charity  required  him  to  speak.  The 
prince  of  this  world  came,  and  had  nothing  in  him. 
Amidst  a  world  of  faithless, 

"  Faithful  only  he. 
Amidst  innumerable  false,  unmoved, 
His  loyalty  he  kept,  his  love  and  zeal, 
Nor  numbers  nor  example  with  him  wrought, 
To  swerve  from  truth,  nor  change  his  constant  mind, 
Though  single." 


200  SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC     OPINION. 

If  such  were  the  Master  what  must  be  the  disciples  ? 
Are  those  his  disciples  who  walk  not  in  his  footsteps  ? 

A  few  Galilean  fishermen  imbibed  his  spirit,  .separated 
themselves  from  the  world,  and  became  his  chosen  and 
inseparable  companions.  With  them  he  traversed  the 
mountains  of  Galilee  and  threaded  the  streets  of  Jem- 
.  salem.  With  them  he  shared  his  scanty  meals,  and 
spread  his  homely  couch.  He  knew  no  distinction  among 
men,  but  that  which  is  made  by  moral  character.  Who- 
soever, said  he,  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father,  he  is  my 
brother,  and  sister  and  mother.  Day  by  day  he  enlight- 
ened their  understandings,  invigorated  their  principles, 
enlarged  their  conceptions,  and  thus  prepared  them  to 
engage  in  the  conflict  with  a  sensual,  frivolous  and  un- 
godly  world. 

By  the  Spirit  which  descended  upon  him  from  on  high, 
they  were  enabled  to  follow  in  his  footsteps.  Few  and 
feeble,  poor  and  illiterate,  they  went  forth  boldly  to 
subdue  rebellious  nations  unto  God.  Every  people,  every 
political  party,  every  religion,  every  priesthood,  all  the 
usages  of  society,  all  the  maxims  of  trade,  all  the  in- 
vestments of  capital,  all  the  reverence  for  antiquity,  all 
the  seductions  of  the  arts,  all  the  blandishments  of  poetry, 
and  all  the  magic  of  eloquence  were  arrayed  in  deadly 
hostility  against  them.  They  met  it  all  and  came  off 
.from  the  conflict  victorious.  But  in  what  manner  was 
that  victory  achieved  ?  Was  it  by  yielding  themselves 
up   to   the   seductions   of   a   sensual    age,   by  submit- 


SLAVERY    TO     PUBLIC     OPINION.  201 

ting  their  consciences  to  the  dictation  of  rulers,  or  con- 
forming their  lives  to  the  maxims  of  the  world  around 
them  ?  You  all  know  how  they  lived  and  how  they  died. 
In  every  place  and  in  every  company,  they  fearlessly 
avowed  their  principles  in  the  presence  of  persecution 
unto  death.  They  had  but  one  question  to  ask,  "  is  it 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  obey  God  rather  than  man  ?" 
and  by  the  answer  to  that  question,  the  course  of  theii 
conduct  was  decided.  Everywhere  they  proclaimed  the 
teachings  of  their  Master,  and  exemplified  his  precepts 
by  a  holy  life  and  blameless  conversation.  It  was  thus 
that  they  have  exerted  a  power  over  humanity  to  which 
the  history  of  our  race  presents  no  parallel.  Thus  they 
commenced  that  moral  movement  which  is  so  perceptibly 
changing  the  destinies  of  mankind,  and  which  can  never 
be  arrested  until  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ.  Thus  did 
Christ  and  his  apostles  achieve  their  victories.  This  then 
is  the  model  of  a  Christian  life,  and  we  are  disciples  of 
Christ,  in  just  so  far  as  we  are  individually  conformed 
to  it. 

If  this  be  so,  the  principles  which  govern  a  Christian's 
life  must  place  him  in  direct  opposition  to  the  opinions 
and  maxims  of  impenitent  men.  He  acknowledges  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  eternal  God,  they  bow  down 
and  worship  the  public  opinion  of  a  world  lying  in  wick- 
edness. The  one  looks  to  the  present,  the  other  to  the 
future.   The  one  acts  for  time  the  other,  for  eternity.   The 


202  SLAVERY    TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

one  follows  in  the  footsteps-  of  Christ,  the  other  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  enemies.  Lives  so  diametrically  oppo- 
site can  never  coincide,  for  we  can  not  serve  God  and 
Mammon.  Let  each  man  inquire  for  himself,  which 
manner  of  life  he  has  chosen,  for  on  the  choice  which  he 
has  made  depends  his  eternal  destiny. 

Would  it  not  be  well  for  every  one  of  us  to  pause  for  a 
moment  and  consider  well  our  prospects  for  eternity  ? 
The  objects  which  now  interest  us  so  deeply  will  soon 
have  passed  away  forever.  Every  one  of  us  will  soon 
have  laid  aside  this  earthly  tabernacle,  and  uncovered 
spirits  stand  in  the  presence  of  our  Omniscient  Judge. 
Companionship  in  sin  will  avail  us  nothing,  for  every  one 
of  us  must  give  account  for  himself  unto  God.  Public 
opinion  will  yield  us  no  protection,  for  there  every  mouth 
will  be  stopped,  and  the  whole  world  be  guilty  before 
God.  What  will  it  profit  us  to  have  sinned  in  company 
and  defied  the  Almighty  in  concert  ?  Our  plea  will  only 
seal  our  tenfold  condemnation,  and  our  dwelling  place 
forever  must  be  with  the  devil  and  his  angels. 

Some  among  us  hope  that  we  have  taken  shelter  under 
the  cover  of  the  atonement,  and  are  trusting  in  the 
merits  of  Christ  for  salvation.  But  what  are  the  condi- 
tions on  which  we  are  permitted  to  rely  on  the  great 
sacrifice  for  sin  ?  The  Saviour  himself  has  told  us. 
Unless  a  man  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and 
follow  me  he  can  not  be  my  disciple.  What  evidence 
have  we  that  we  are  resting  under  the  shadow  of  the 


SLAVERY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION.  203 

atonement,  if  we  have  neither  denied  ourselves,  nor  taken 
up  the  cross,  nor  followed  Christ  ?  In  vain  do  ye  call  me 
Lord  !  Lord  !  and  do  not  the  things  that  I  say.  "What  will 
it  avail  us,  at  the  last  day,  to  aver  that  multitudes  with 
us  made  the  same  profession  of  discipleship,  that  we 
denied  Christ  in  masses,  and  put  him  to  open  shame  in 
company  ?  We  thus  with  our  own  mouths  pronounce 
our  own  condemnation. 

When  the  question  was  asked,  Lord  are  there  few  that 
be  saved  ?  the  answer  returned  was,  Strive  to  enter  into 
the  strait  gate,  for  many  shall  seek  to  enter  in  and  shall 
not  be  able.  Are  there  any  among  us  who  are  thus 
striving,  who  hold  themselves  aloof  from  all  companion- 
ship with  fashionable  sin,  whose  standard  of  duty  is  the 
Word  of  God,  and  whose  pattern  of  life  is  the  example 
of  Christ  ?  Are  there  any  among  us  in  whose  daily  con- 
versation Christ  is  set  forth,  and  who  joyfully  suffer 
ignominy  for  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  Are  there  not  some 
among  us  who  esteem  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  all  the  companionship  of  the  ungodly  ?  God 
be  with  you  and  strengthen  you,  ye  saints  of  the  Most 
High.  Men  may  cast  out  your  names  as  evil,  but  be  of 
good  cheer,  your  names  are  written  in  the  LamVs  book 
of  life.  The  path  that  you  tread  may  be  rough  and 
wearisome,  but  it  leads  directly  to  the  city  of  the  living 
God.  There  is  not  a  reproach  that  you  bear  for  Christ, 
which  shall  not  work  out  for  you  a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory.     Trials  may  await  you,  for 


204  SLAVEKY     TO     PUBLIC     OPINION. 

in  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation,  but  fear  not,  little 
flock,  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom.  Your  eternity  will  be  with  the  Forerunner  in 
whose  footsteps  you  have  trodden,  and  with  the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  whose  names  are 
written  in  heaven.  And  one  of  the  elders  said  unto  me, 
what  are  these  that  are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  whence 
came  they  ?  And  I  said  unto  him,  Sir,  thou  knowest.  And 
he  said  unto  me,  These  are  they  which  have  come  out  of 
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are 
they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day  and 
night  in  his  temple.  For  the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  lead  them  to  living 
fountains  of  water,  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
from  their  eyes. 

The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war, 

A  kingly  crown  to  gain ; 
His  blood-red  banner  streams  afar ; 

Who  follows  in  his  train  ? 
Who  best  can  drink  his  cup  of  woe, 

Triumphant  over  pain, 
Who  patient  bears  his  cross  below : 

He  follows  in  his  train. 

The  martyr  first  whose  eagle  eye 

Could  pierce  beyond  the  grave  ; 
Who  saw  his  Master  in  the  sky, 

And  called  on  him  to  save. 
Like  him,  with  pardon  on  his  tongue 

In  midst  of  mortal  pain, 
He  prayed  for  them  that  did  the  -wrong : 

Who  follows  in  his  train  ? 


SLAVERY    TO    PUBLIC     OPINION.  205 

A  glorious  band,  the  chosen  few 

On  whom  the  Spirit  came; 
Twelve  valiant  saints,  their  hope  they  knew, 

And  mocked  the  cross  and  shame. 
They  met  the  tyrant's  brandished  steel, 

The  lion's  gory  mane ; 
They  bowed  their  necks  the  death  to  feel : 

Who  follows  in  their  train  ? 

A  noble  army,  men  and  boys, 

The  matron  and  the  maid, 
Around  the  Saviour's  throne  rejoice, 

In  robes  of  light  arrayed. 
They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  to  heaven, 

Through  peril,  toil  and  pain. 
0  God  !  to  us  may  grace  be  given, 

To  follow  in  their  train  ? 


SERMON    VI. 

THE     PERILS    OF    RICHES. 

But  they  that  will  be  rich,  fall  into  temptation,  and  a  snare,  and  into  many 
foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition. 
For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil :  which  while  some  coveted 
after,  they  have  erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  themselves  through 
with  many  sorrows.  But  thou,  0  man  of  God,  flee  these  things. — 1  Tim- 
othy, vi.  9,  10,  11. 

It  has  long  since  been  wisely  remarked,  that  our  great- 
est moral  dangers  arise,  not  from  direct  but  indirect 
temptations.  When  we  are  solicited  to  violate  a  plain 
commandment  of  Christ,  conscience  promptly  gives  the 
alarm,  and  we  turn  away  from  the  sin  with  abhorrence. 
When,  however,  the  evil  consists  in  doing  in  excess 
what  can  be  innocently  done  only  within  limits  ;  when 
conduct,  perhaps  harmless  to  others,  paralyzes  our  moral 
sensibilities  and  disqualifies  us  for  the  discharge  of  duty; 
when  the  motives  which  at  first  impelled  us  may  be  in- 
sensibly exchanged  for  others  which  calm  reflection  would 
instantly  pronounce  to  be  wrong,  we  frequently  pass, 
without  heeding  it,  the  boundary  which  separates  virtue 
from  vice,  and  the  voice  of  conscience  is  hardly  recognized 
until  the  chains  of  habit  are  riveted  upon  us,  and  we  are 
fully  committed  to  a  course  of  ill  doing. 


THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES.  207 

To  no  subject  does  this  remark  more  emphatically  ap- 
ply than  to  the  pursuit  of  wealth.  Labor  is  imposed 
upon  us  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  health  and  enjoyment, 
nay  of  existence  itself.  If  a  man  will  not  work,  neither 
shall  he  eat,  said  an  Apostle.  We  are,  moreover,  com- 
manded not  only  to  do  with  our  might  whatever  our  hand 
fmdeth  to  do,  but  to  be  in  all  things  moderate  in  our  de- 
sires, temperate,  and  self-denying.  But  this  course  of 
life  leads,  by  necessity,  to  increased  possessions.  The  in- 
crease of  possessions  opens  new  avenues  to  temptation  ; 
it  spreads  before  us  allurements 'unknown  to  poverty, 
and  discloses  opportunities  for  accumulation  clustering 
thickly  just  on  the  other  side  of  the  line  of  perfect  rec- 
titude. Hence  the  Scriptures  so  frequently  admonish  us 
against  these  inevitable  clangers.  We  are  taught  that 
the  love  of  wealth  is,  in  its  nature,  at  variance  with  the 
love  of  God,  for  covetousness  is  idolatry  ;  and  that  unless 
we  forsake  houses  and  lands  for  Christ's  sake,  we  can  not 
be  his  disciples.  In  the  solemn  and  impressive  words  of 
the  text,  they  that  will  be  rich,  fall  into  temptation,  and 
a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which 
drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition.  For  the  love 
of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  which  while  some  have 
coveted  after,  they  have  erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced 
themselves  through  with  many  sorrows.  But  thou,  0 
man  of  God,  flee  these  things. 

If  such  be  the  dangers  of  riches,  it  is  our  duty  to  medi- 


208  THE    PERILS    OF    EICHES. 

tate  upon  them  with  deep  attention.  To  aid  you  in  this 
moral  labor  is  the  object  of  the  present  discourse. 

I.  Suffer  us,  in  the  first  place,  to  set  before  you  some 
of  the  dangers  which  surround  the  acquisition  of  wealth. 

In  order  to  apprehend  this  subject  the  more  adequately, 
let  us  commence  with  the  obvious  truth,  that  the  right 
of  property  rests  on  the  self-evident  axiom,  that  every 
man  has  A  right  to  himself.  His  powers  of  body  and 
his  faculties  of  mind  were  bestowed  upon  him  by  his 
Creator,  and  no  created  power  can  revoke  the  grant. 
These  energies  of  body  and  faculties  of  mind  every  man 
may  use  as  he  will,  provided  only  he  obey  the  laws  of 
Grod,  and  violate  no  right  of  his  neighbor.  It  is  on  this 
foundation  that  the  doctrine  of  human  accountability 
rests.  For  every  thought  and  word  and  action  of  our  lives, 
every  one  us  of  must  give  account.  But  this  account 
could  never  be  required,  unless  every  man  were  perfectly 
free,  provided  he  violated  no  right  of  his  neighbor,  to 
think  and  speak  and  act  as  he  pleased. 

Secondly.  A  man,  under  the  condition  just  suggested, 
is  at  perfect  liberty  to  employ  his  faculties,  both  of  body 
and  mind,  in  the  creation  of  value,  or,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  wealth.  By  the  use  of  his  powers,  in  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  nature,  a  product  is  created  which  did  not 
before  exist.  It  owes  its  existence  in  its  present  form  to 
the  exercise  of  these  faculties,  or,  in  common  language, 
to  his  labor.  If  the  labor  had  not  been  put  forth,  the 
product  could  not  have  existed.     This  product,  whatever 


THE     PERILS    OF    RICHES.  209 

it  be,  is  the  exclusive  property  of  the  man  by  whom  it 
has  been  brought  into  existence.  If  the  original  material 
and  the  means  of  production  are  his  own,  the  whole  of 
the  product  is  the  property  of  the  producer.  If  the  ma- 
terials and  the  means  of  production  belonged  to  another, 
the  product  must  be  equitably  divided  between  the  capi- 
talist and  the  laborer.  But  whatever  be  the  portion 
earned  by  the  laborer,  whether  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the 
product  created,  it  is  all  exclusively  his  own.  It  is  the 
reward  which  Gocl  has  bestowed  upon  him  for  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  his  creation. 

The  productiveness  of  the  earth  has  been  ordained  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  laws  of  human  labor.  We  can 
not  exist  without  food,  clothing  and  shelter.  These 
wants  of  man  may  be  fully  supplied  from  the  bosom  of 
the  soil,  but  they  are  not  furnished  spontaneously.  We 
must  labor  to  procure  them,  and  they  are  yielded  to 
us  on  no  other  condition.  By  the  sweat  of  thy  face  thou 
shalt  eat  thy  bread,  is  the  original  enactment.  It  has 
never  been  repealed  and  the  Lawgiver  enforces  it  with 
adequate  penalties.  It  is  thus  that  the  labor  of  every 
day  provides  for  the  wants  of  every  day.  Because  the 
labor  has  been  our  own,  we  are  entitled  to  its  results,  for 
the  sustentation  of  our  lives,  and  the  production  of  our 
individual  happiness. 

But  the  relation  between  human  labor  and  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  earth  may  be  still  further  considered. 
If  the  use  of  our  physical  power  has  been  directed  by 


210  THE    PERILS    OF    RIOHES. 

skill,  the  earth  will  yield  far  more  than  will  suffice  for 
the  supply  of  our  daily  wants.  An  annual  surplus  will 
remain  after  every  rational  want  is  gratified,  and  this 
surplus  may  be  used  to  increase  the  productiveness  of  the 
succeeding  year.  Thus  it  is  that,  by  the  union  of  indus- 
try with  frugality,  wealth  is  created.  It  is  clearly  the 
will  of  God  that  each  generation  should  leave  the  world 
richer  than  it  found  it,  and  better  adapted  to  yield  a 
larger  increase.  Thus  it  is  that  the  earth,  which  once 
possessed  nothing  but  capabilities,  is  now  covered  with 
the  various  forms  of  wealth,  and  every  means  for  the 
production  of  human  happiness.  Land  and  sea,  moun- 
tain and  valley,  forest  and  prairie,  the  soil  that  we  tread 
on,  the  mine  beneath  and  the  atmosphere  around  us,  are 
all  rendered  subservient  to  the  well-being  of  man.  Had 
we  obeyed  the  laws  of  our  Creator,  and  had  sin  with  its 
results  been  banished  from  our  world,  the  whole  earth 
would  long  since  have  been  again  transformed  into  a 
paradise,  and  suffering,  and  want,  have  been  no  more 
known  among  the  children  of  men. 

It  is  too  obvious  to  need  remark,  that  the  surplus 
which  remains  after  our  wants  have  been  supplied,  is  our 
own,  just  as  much  as  any  part  of  our  product.  ."No  one 
without  injustice  can  take  from  us  one  part  more  than 
another,  unless  he  pay  us  a  satisfactory  equivalent. 
Again,  our  product  may  be  perishable  and  its  value 
depreciate,  or  a  part  of  it  be  annihilated.  Inasmuch  as 
the  whole  product  is  our  own,  and  no  one  else  has  the 


THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES.  211 

semblance  of  a  right  over  it,  the  loss  must,  by  necessity, 
fall  upon  ourselves  and  we  ourselves  must  bear  it.  So, 
on  the  other  hand,  our  product  may  increase  in  value. 
This  additional  value,  for  the  same  reason,  is  our  own 
just  as  much  as  the  original  product,  and  to  take  from  us 
this  part  of  our  property  without  an  equivalent,  is  just 
as  wicked  as  to  deprive  us  of  any  other.  It  is  all  our 
own,  the  result  directly  or  indirectly  of  our  own  labor, 
and  every  portion  of  it  is  equally  guarded  by  the  same 
moral  law  of  the  Creator. 

All  this  is  simple  and  easily  understood,  and  were 
wealth  accumulated  on  no  other  principles,  our  moral 
nature  would  be  in  little  danger  from  increased  posses- 
sions. But  it  unfortunately  happens  that  by  the  increase 
of  wealth,  the  love  of  wealth  is  rendered  more  intense. 
Great  possessions,  by  opening  new  avenues  to  gain  and 
presenting  new  opportunities  for  sensual  and  social  enjoy- 
ment, expose  us  to  some  of  the  most  seducing  tempta- 
tions which  ever  beset  us.  The  insatiate  striving  for 
more,  leads  us  to  look  with  an  evil  eye  upon  the  pros- 
perity of  our  neighbor.  As  the  gains  of  our  own  labor 
are  insufficient  to  supply  our  exaggerated  wants,  the 
desire  springs  up  unbidden  to  appropriate  to  ourselves 
some  portion  of  that  for  which  he  has  labored.  We  covet 
that  which  is  our  neighbor's  and  yet  we  despise  the  char- 
acter of  a  thief.  We  would  not  on  any  account  take 
from  him  all  his  possessions.  We  would  not  pick  his 
pocket  of  a  shilling,  or  break  into  his  house  and  rob  him 


212  THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES. 

of  his  spoons.  We  might,  however,  take  great  pains  to 
accomplish  an  exchange  with  him,  by  which  we  should 
receive  a  full  equivalent  for  all  that  wre  part  with,  and 
besides  this  a  very  large  amount  for  wdiich  we  have  ren- 
dered no  equivalent  whatever.  We  would  on  no  account 
charge  him  with  goods  which  were  never  delivered,  but 
we  might  be  quite  willing  to  deliver  him  goods  of  which 
twenty-five  per  cent,  is  useless  adulteration,  or  which  we 
know  to  be  short  of  measure  or  deficient  in  weight.  If 
our  property  has  depreciated  in  value,  we  scruple  not  to 
charge  a  buyer  who  is  ignorant  of  the  market,  a  price 
which  shall  throw  upon  him  the  loss  which  belongs 
wholly  to  ourselves.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  our  neigh- 
bor's property  has  risen  in  value,  wre  scarcely  consider  it 
sharp  practice,  quietly  to  obtain  it,  on  such  terms  as  shall 
secure  to  us  the  additional  value  without  the  shadow  of 
an  equivalent.  I  would  not  sell  a  forged  bond,  or  pass  a 
counterfeit  bill,  but  I  might  sell  a  bond  which  I  privately 
knew  was  not  worth  the  half  of  what  I  received  for  it,  or 
I  might  offer  in  payment  the  bills  of  a  bank  which,  from 
"  information  received,"  I  was  sure  wrould  to-morrow  be 
almost  worthless.  Accustomed  to  this  manner  of  trans- 
fer, we  may  go  a  step  further,  and  ourselves  create  the 
very  rise  and  fall  of  prices  of  which  we  so  eagerly  take 
advantage.  When  the  market  price  of  an  article  is  low, 
we  may  innocently  purchase  as  much  as  we  think  for  our 
benefit.  We  thus  equalize  prices,  and  prevent  any  fur- 
ther depreciation.     But  because  we  may  do  this  inno- 


THE    PEEILS    OF    RICHES.  213 

cently,  we  rimy  be  tempted  to  go  farther,  and  combine 
with  others  to  purchase  the  whole  supply  of  a  necessary 
of  life,  that  thus  we  may  command  the  market,  and 
oblige  our  fellow-citizens  to  pay  us  any  price  which  our 
cupidity  may  impose.  Because  we  have  the  power,  we 
think  we  have  the  right,  to  wring  from  the  laboring 
masses  as  much  of  their  dear  bought  earnings  as  we 
please,  and  thus  enrich  ourselves  by  impoverishing  the 
community.  The  talent  committed  to  us  for  the  purpose 
of  blessing  mankind  we  use  as  an  instrument  of  whole- 
sale oppression.  We  thus  create  that  very  prejudice 
against  wealth  of  which  we  are  the  first  to  complain,  and 
bring  to  pass  the  saying  of  Solomon,  He  that  withholdeth 
corn,  the  people  shall  curse  him. 

These  and  a  thousand  such  snares  beset  the  disciple  of 
Christ  in  his  effort  to  grow  rich,  or  even  to  provide  for  the 
exaggerated  wants  of  them  of  his  own  household.  He 
can  only  escape  them  by  undeviating  adherence  to  the 
Saviour's  commandment,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself.  God  has  given  to  each  of  us  such  a  portion 
as  he  chose,  and  neither  of  us  may  touch  a  farthing  of 
that  which  he  has  bestowed  on  another.  Nay  more,  we 
are  forbidden  even  to  desire  it.  We  may  not  covet  his 
house,  or  his  lands,  or  anything  that  is  our  neighbor's. 
Whatever  is  his,  be  it  much  or  little,  be  it  in  whole  or 
in  part,  is  guarded  and  protected  by  that  holy  low  which 
is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart. 

Let  a  man  make  haste  and  delay  not  to  keep  this  com- 


214  THE    PEKILS    OF    EICHES, 

mandment  ;  let  him  submit  himself  and  all  his  transac- 
tions to  the  clearly  revealed  will  of  God  ;  and  he  may 
walk  unharmed  amidst  all  the  snares  which  beset  the 
path  of  him  who  is  diligent  in  business.  The  temp- 
tations to  fraud,  chicanery  and  overreaching,  will  fall 
harmless  at  his  feet.  The  smallest  right  of  the  most  igno- 
rant and  unsuspecting  will  be  as  precious  in  his  eyes  as 
his  own.  Whatever  be  the  increase  which  God  has  given 
him,  there  will  not  be  found  there  a  shilling,  which  the 
law  of  impartial  justice  would  award  to  another.  His 
earnings  are  the  blessings  which  his  Father  in  heaven  has 
bestowed  on  his  honest  industry,  and  he  may  confidently 
trust  that  on  such  gains  the  favor  of  God  has  rested. 

I  know  full  well  the  objections  which  can  be  urged 
against  this  scriptural  law  of  accumulation.  I  shall  be 
told  that  the  customs  of  trade  proceed  on  very  different 
principles,  and  that  to  these  customs  every  man  of  busi- 
ness must  conform.  It  will  be  said  that  to  obey  Christ 
in  that  matter  would  consign  ourselves  and  our  families 
to  inevitable  poverty.  Be  it  so.  Still  I  ask,  what  does 
the  Saviour  require  of  us  if  we  acknowledge  him  to  be 
our  Master  ?  If  we  are  not  willing  to  surrender  houses 
and  lands  for  his  sake,  we  cannot  be  his  disciples.  If 
we  do  not  submit  our  desires  to  his  will,  how  can  we 
claim  him  as  our  Kedeemer  ?  Doth  it  matter  much, 
though  we  be  poor  in  this  world,  if  we  be  rich  in  faith 
and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  that  shall  be  revealed  ?  If  the 
world  lieth  in  wickedness  and  we  wallow  in  wickedness 


THE    PERILS    OF     RICHES.  215 

with  it,  will  a  profession  of  religion  save  us  from  the 
condemnation  that  cometh  upon  the  ungodly  ?  Is  it 
not  an  honor  to  endure  poverty  for  the  sake  of  him, 
who,  though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor,  that 
we  through  his  poverty  might  be  made  rich  ? 

But  I  ask  has  it  been  found  that  disinterested  and 
honorable  dealing  commonly  leads  to  poverty  ?  How 
comes  it  then  to  be  universally  acknowledged  that  hon- 
esty is  the  best  'policy  ?  Industry,  frugality  and  un- 
deviating  integrity  have  always  been  found  to  lead  with 
certainty  to  mercantile  success.  I  know  that  fortunes 
are  sometimes  made,  but  I  also  know  that  they  are  much 
more  frequently  lost,  by  rash  speculation,  the  result  of  all 
grasping  love  of  gain.  But  let  us  bring  this  matter  to  a 
practical  test.  Suppose  that  every  professor  of  the 
religion  of  Christ  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  undeviating 
truth  and  scrupulous  conscientiousness,  whose  word  was 
as  good  as  his  bond,  and  in  whose  hands  the  concerns  of 
every  man  wrere  perfectly  secure,  would  not  the  disciples 
of  Christ  control  the  business  of  the  world  ?  Would  not 
every  man,  whether  stranger  or  near  neighbor  select  them 
as  the  persons  with  whom  he  would  prefer  to  transact 
business  ?  Their  success  would  oblige  other  men  to  imi- 
tate their  example,  and  thus  they  would  create  the 
general  necessity  of  adopting  the  highest  standard  of 
mercantile  integrity.  They  would  thus  leaven  the  world 
instead  of  being  leavened  by  it.  The  precepts  of  Jesus 
would  govern  the  minutest  transactions  of  the  counting- 


216  .  THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES. 

room  and  banking-bouse,  so  that,  in  the  significant  lan- 
guage of  scripture,  Holiness  should  be  written  on  the 
bells  of  the  horses.  How  vain  then  is  the  excuse  so 
often  pleaded,  that  a  Christian  must  degrade  himself  to 
the  level  of  covetous  and  unscrupulous  men,  in  order 
to  achieve  mercantile  success.  Were  the  disciples  of 
Christ  fearlessly,  stedfastly,  and  in  faith,  to  obey  their 
Master,  not  only  would  they  escape  the  perils  which  sur- 
round their  peculiar  position,  but  they  would  elevate  the 
whole  community  to  the  high  level  of  honorable  and  dis- 
interested Christian  morality. 

Such  then  are  some  of  the  perils  of  accumulation, 
and  thus  can  they  b'e  met  by  the  Christian  merchant. 
Whether  he  be  rich  or  poor,  whether  he  be  rich  in  youth, 
in  manhood,  or  mature  life,  is  to  him  a  matter  of  sec- 
ondary importance.  His  first  concern  is,  to  please  the 
Master,  and  this  he  can  do,  only  by  adherence  to  the  law 
of  high-minded,  disinterested,  Christian  reciprocity.  The 
rest  he  leaves  with  God.  In  success  or  in  failure,  the 
great  object  of  his  life  is  to  please  his  Father  who  is  in 
heaven.  His  daily  labor  is  a  service  to  Christ.  His  daily 
warfare  with  temptation  strengthens  his  virtue,  confirms 
him  in  all  goodness,  and  in  an  eminent  degree  prepares 
him  for  that  world  where  the  crown  of  righteousness  is 
given  to  all  who  have  triumphed  over  the  sin  which  so 
easily  besets  them. 

Here,  however,  let  me  caution  the  young  believer 
against  a  rock  on  which  very  many  have  made  ship- 


THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES.  217 

wreck.  Though  he  should  obey  the  rule  of  the  Saviour 
in  the  mauner  of  his  accumulation,  yet  too  eager  a  de- 
sire for  immediate  success  may  entangle  him  in  a  snare 
hardly  less  hurtful.  Feeling  deeply  the  need  of  capital, 
he  is  tempted  to  re-invest  his  gains  with  an  avidity  which 
puts  far  away  into  the  future  all  the  claims  of  religion 
and  benevolence.  The  command  of  God  is,  Honor  the 
Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  with  the  first  fruits  of  thy 
increase.  In  too  great  haste  to  be  rich,  he  determines  to 
devote  the  first  part  of  his  life  to  accumulation,  that,  in 
old  age,  he  may  have  the  more  to  consecrate  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  Of  this  device  of  the  adversary  let  the 
young  Christian  beware.  The  duty  of  devoting  our  pos- 
sessions to  Christ,  belongs  to  all  times  and  all  places.  It 
is  obligatory  on  us  as  much  at  the  commencement  as  at 
the  close  of  our  probation.  The  small  offering  saved  by 
self-denial  from  the  scanty  salary  of  the  clerk,  or  earned 
by  the  additional  toil  of  the  young  mechanic,  or  with- 
held from  some  rare  investment  by  the  young  merchant, 
may  be  a  richer  gift  in  the  sight  of  God,  than  the  world- 
renowned  benefaction  of  the  aged  millionaire.  Besides, 
it  is  only  by  commencing  early  in  life  the  consecration  of 
our  substance  unto  God,  that  we  can  establish  the  habit 
of  benevolence.  While  we  postpone  the  discharge  of  our 
duty  until  we  have  become  wealthy,  the  love  of  gain  is 
insensibly  acquiring  strength,  we  listen  to  the  claims  of 
benevolence  with  less  and  less  sensibility,  and  at  last  be- 
come deaf  to  the  voice  of  humanity.     When  we  are  able 

10 


218  THE    PERILS    OF    KICHES, 

to  give  without  the  smallest  self-denial,  the  disposition  to 
give  has  perished,  and  we  have  been  transformed  into  the 
very  misers  whom  once  we  thoroughly  despised. 

Were  it  necessary,  I  might  here  explain  the  connection 
which  God  has  established  between  habitual  benevolence 
and  financial  ability.  Time  would  fail  were  I  to  consider 
the  subject  at  large.  I  will  only  remark  that  this  very 
habit,  above  all  others,  cultivates  that  calm  equanimity 
on  which  soundness  of  judgment  so  materially  depends. 
Men  commonly  fail  from  one  of  two  causes.  They  either 
timidly  shrink  from  a  reasonable  risk,  or,  allured  by  the 
promise  of  extraordinary  gains,  peril  their  all  in  too  haz- 
ardous investments.  We  are  best  preserved  from  both 
these  dangers,  by  ever  considering  our  property  as  a  tal- 
ent committed  to  us  by  God,  which  we  are  bound  to  use 
for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  Our  personal  interest  then 
ceases  to  agitate  us,  and  we  act  as  stewards  to  whom  a 
trust  has  been  committed.  Thus,  exempted  from  the 
bias  both  toward  timidity  and  rashness,  we  estimate  a  risk 
at  precisely  its  true  value,  the  surest  test  of  financial 
skill.  In  this  manner  the  promise  is  fulfilled  which  fol- 
lows the  precept  I  just  now  quoted.  Honor  the  Lord 
with  thy  substance  and  with  the  first  fruits  of  all  thy  in- 
crease ;  so  shall  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty,  and  thy 
presses  shall  burst  out  with  new  wine. 

II.  But  suppose  the  disciple  of  Christ  to  have  pursued 
his  calling  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  reciprocity,  and 
that  not  a  dollar  of  his  estate  has  been  soiled  by  mean- 


THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES.  219 

ness  or  dishonesty.  He  may  have  given  of  his  increase, 
so  that,  thus  far,  lie  has  escaped  the  charge  of  avarice. 
God  lias  smiled  upon  the  labor  of  his  hands,  and  has 
blessed  him  with  ample  means  for  the  supply  of  every 
reasonable  want,  both  of  himself  and  his  children.  He 
believed  it  his  duty  to  make  provision  for  those  committed 
to  his  charge.  This  duty  is  accomplished  ;  what  shall  he 
do  next  ?  The  question  presents  itself,  how  much  may 
be  in  the  fear  of  God  accumulated,  and  how  much  longer 
may  he  rightfully  continue  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth  ? 
Shall  he  labor  on  for  the  gold  that  perisheth  until  death 
surprises  him,  or  shall  he  devote  the  remainder  of  his 
life  to  the  service  of  God  and  humanity  ?  Here  is  the 
temptation  to  the  man  of  middle  age. 

I  am  well  aware  that  this  question  may  sound  strangely 
to  most  of  you.  I  fear  that  many  a  disciple  of  Christ  has 
lived  until  his  eye  has  grown  dim  and  his  natural  force 
abated,  without  ever  asking  it.  On  this  very  rock  we  fear 
that  thousands  are  at  this  moment  making  shipwreck  of 
faith.  It  is  obvious  that  the  man  of  business  has  no  more 
right  to  live  unto  himself  than  the  clergyman,  the  mis- 
sionary, the  martyr,  or  the  apostle.  The  principles  which 
govern  the  life  of  a  Christian  are  not  affected  by  his  call- 
ing ;  they  are  the  same  always  and  everywhere.  Christ 
died  for  the  one  as  much  as  for  the  other,  and  the  title  of 
both  to  the  heavenly  inheritance  is  verified  by  the  same 
sign,  they  live  not  unto  themselves  but  unto  him  who 
loved  them  and  gave  himself  for  them. 


220  THE     PERILS    OF    RICHES. 

But  let  a  man  ignore  all  this,  and  claim  that  he  has  a 
light  to  live  unto  himself,  and  he  chooses  the  path  which 
leads  to  the  chambers  of  spiritual  death.  The  opportu- 
nity is  afforded  him  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  life 
in  the  direct  service  of  Christ,  or  in  the  labor  for  accu- 
mulation. He  chooses  the  latter,  and  it  soon  becomes 
his  ruling  passion.  Religion,  from  being  an  active  prin- 
ciple, becomes  a  matter  of  form.  He  may  attend  the 
worship  of  the  sanctuary  wilh  business-like  punctuality, 
but  his  soul  holds  no  communion  with  God.  As  his 
wealth  increases,  his  love  of  it  becomes  more  intense 
and  absorbing.  Investments  are  so  precious  that  he  has 
nothing  to  spare  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  The  cry  of  dis- 
tress, that  once  aroused  his  whole  soul  to  sympathy, 
now  falls  on  his  ear  unheeded.  His  moral  perceptions 
are  obscured.  Arts  of  gain  which  he  once  scorned,  he 
now  practices  with  avidity.  At  last,  professing  the  reli- 
gion of  the  blessed  Jesus,  and  holding  the  most  orthodox 
of  creeds,  he  is  transformed  into  a  grasping  miser.  Yet 
he  is  hardly  aware  of  the  change  that  has  passed  upon 
him.  His  brethren  foster  his  delusion,  for  instead  of  re- 
buking, they  flatter  him,  for  they  know  that  he  is  very 
rich.  Thus,  cursed  with  spiritual  blindness,  he  is  draw- 
ing near  to  the  judgment-seat  with  a  lie  in  his  right  hand. 

The  man  dies  and  appears  before  God.  What  evi- 
dence has  he  left  behind  him  that  he  is  an  heir  of 
heaven  ?  The  heathen  have  not  read  the  message  of 
salvation  from  Bibles  which  he  has    scattered   abroad. 


THE    PEEILS    OF    RICHES.  221 

No  savage  tribe  has  heard  of  the  love  of  Christ  from  the 
lips  of  a  herald  whom  he  has  sent  forth.  The  poor  have 
not  been  warmed  by  the  fleece  of  his  flock,  nor  has  his 
cheering  voice  or  liberal  hand  caused  the  heart  of  the 
widow  or  the  orphan  to  leap  for  joy.  Nay,  his  life  has 
been  an  offence  ;  for  multitudes,  taking  his  example  as 
an  exponent  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  have  resolved  that 
they  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  An  asterisk  is  pre- 
fixed to  his  name  on  the  books  of  his  church.  The  news- 
papers announce  the  death  of  the  senior  member  of  a 
very  respectable  firm.  Men  on  'Change  discuss  with  in- 
terest the  question  how  much  he  was  worth,  and  this 
question  answered,  he  passes  away  from  the  thoughts  of 
the  living,  and  is  remembered  no  more  forever.  Such  is 
the  end  of  him  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  nnd  is 
not  rich  toward  God. 

Another  disciple  has  made  provision  for  every  reason- 
able want ;  it  is  in  his  power  to  consecrate  his  life  to  the 
service  of  Christ,  but  he  chooses  the  pursuit  of  worldliness 
in  its  more  seductive  form. 

He  is  able  to  enter  upon  the  career  of  social  competi- 
tion, and  gain  for  himself  and  his  family  a  position  in 
what  is  fancifully  termed  "  the  best  society."  His  modest 
dwelling  is  exchanged  for  a  mansion  that  attracts  the 
gaze  of  the  passers  by.  His  drawing  rooms  shine  in 
costly  magnificence,  and  are  embellished  by  the  highest 
efforts  of  artistic  skill.  His  tables  are  loaded  with  every 
delicacy  that  wealth  can  command.     His  equipages  are 


222  THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES. 

remarked  for  tlie  tastefuluess  of  their  construction,  and 
the  perfection  of  their  appointments.  His  entertainments 
boast  an  extravagance  from  which  nobles  would  draw 
back,  and  they  are  crowded  with  all  that  is  distinguished 
in  talent  or  wealth,  in  beauty  or  fashion,  in  political 
power  or  social  preeminence.  The  man  has  devoted  his 
life  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  object,  and  he  has  ac- 
complished it.  And  he  must  continue  it,  though  old  age 
is  coming  upon  him,  and  the  labor  which  it  imposes 
presses  heavily  upon  grey  hairs,  exhausted  energies,  and 
the  saddened  conviction  that  he  is  living  in  vain.  He  is 
by  profession  a  disciple  of  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  who 
had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  and  he  regularly  at  the 
communion  table  professes,  that  his  affections  are  set 
upon  things  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand 
of  God.  But  when  Christ  who  is  our  life  shall  appear, 
will  he  appear  with  him  in  glory  ? 

This  rich  man  also  dies  and  is  buried.  His  establish- 
ment is  broken  up,  and  his  equipages  are  scattered.  A 
prominent  name  is  erased  from  the  list  of  aspirants  for 
social  distinction.  A  house  of  gratuitous  entertainment 
for  the  frivolous  and  gay  is  closed.  Before  the  next  sea- 
Bon  arrives  his  name  is  forgotten.  The  widow  and  the 
orphan  have  not  a  friend  the  less.  The  young  and  inex- 
perienced have  lost  no  counselor.  The  church  of  God  is 
no  longer  paralyzed  by  the  influence  of  his  example. 
Every  act  of  his  probation  has  been  recorded  on  high,  and 


THE    PEPwILS    OF    RICHES.  223 

the  man  has  appeared  before  God  to  render  up  his  ac- 
count for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  Are  we  not  bound  to  make  a 
suitable  provision  for  our  children  ?  Is  not  this  duty 
imposed  upon  us  by  the  gospel  itself  ?  We  answer  most 
certainly.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  we  are  here 
dealing  with  those  who  have  already  made  every  provision 
needful  to  enable  their  children  to  enter  upon  a  life  of 
industry  with  the  best  prospect  of  success.  We  have 
still  to  ask  whether,  having  accomplished  this,  a  disciple 
of  Christ  may  spend  the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  accumula- 
tion of  wealth  for  those  that  shall  come  after  him. 

We  have  observed  that  the  man  has  the  opportunity 
to  select  the  manner  in  which  the  maturity  of  his  life 
shall  be  spent.  He  may  devote  it  to  the  service  of  Christ 
or  to  the  service  of  his  children.  While  we  grant  that 
not  to  love  our  children  is  to  deny  the  faith,  we  must  not 
forget  our  Saviour's  emphatic  declaration,  He  that  loveth 
son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me. 
Here  then  the  two  things  are  set  the  one  over  against 
the  other.  We  may  live  for  the  salvation  of  the  world 
for  which  Christ  died,  or  we  may  live  for  the  purpose  of 
leaving  large  possessions  to  our  children.  We  choobe  the 
latter.  We  love  son  and  daughter  more  than  Christ. 
Can  we  then  be  worthy  of  him  ? 

I  would  ask,  in  what  manner  can  we  so  worthily  provide 
for  our  children,  as  by  laboring  to  prepare  them  for  use- 
fulness here  and  happiness  hereafter  ?     But  in  what  de- 


224  THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES. 

gree  does  large  accumulation  confer  this  preparation  ? 
When  we  have  suitably  cultivated  the  faculties  with 
which  God  has  endowed  theni,  and  accustomed  them  to 
habits  of  manly  self-reliance  ;  when  we  have  trained  them 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  and  pro- 
vided them  with  the  means  of  rendering  their  industry 
available,  wealth  can  render  them  no  further  service. 
The  direct  effect  of  large  expectations  is  to  render  labor 
at  first  unnecessary,  and  then  repulsive.  Indolent  habits 
with  large  opportunity  for  sensual  gratification,  consti- 
tute the  most  perilous  condition  of  human  probation. 
Hence  when  the  children  of  the  rich  rise  to  eminence, 
we  consider  the  case  exceptional,  and  award  to  them  the 
praise  of  having  escaped  the  most  appalling  moral  dan- 
gers. The  high  prizes  in  life  are  almost  always  gained 
by  those  on  whom  poverty  has  sternly  yet  kindly  imposed 
the  necessity  of  earnest  and  untiring  effort.  To  this  ne- 
cessity they  ascribe  their  success,  and  the  habits  which  it 
cultivated  they  declare  to  have  been  the  source  of  their 
present  happiness.  Can  it  be  wise  parental  love  to  re- 
move from  our  children  the  necessity  of  industry,  with 
the  high-souled  self-reliance  and  the  full  development  of 
their  intellectual  and  moral  nature  which  industry  so 
naturally  fosters  ? 

We  seem  here  to  be  the  victims  of  a  strange  and  un- 
accountable .  delusion.  No  man  of  sense  is  ashamed  to 
acknowledge  that  he  was  the  architect  of  his  own  for- 
tunes, and  that  by  his  own  unaided  effort  he  has  attained 


THE    PERILS    OF     RICHES.  225 

to  independence.  Nay,  it  is  to  him  a  matter  of  honest 
gratulation.  Our  friends  so  esteem  it,  and  they  delight 
to  repeat  the  story  of  our  early  struggles,  our  resolute 
self-reliance,  and  their  ultimate  reward.  We  compare 
ourselves  with  our  companions  in  childhood  who  were 
born  to  hereditary  wealth.  We  observe,  perhaps,  with 
too  complacent  self-esteem,  the  difference  between  their 
course  and  our  own.  They  grew  up  in  indolence,  were 
nurtured  in  affluence,  yielded  to  the  seductions  of  vice, 
and  sunk  to  an  early  and  dishonored  grave.  We  were 
inured  to  hardship,  were  taught  industry  by  necessity,  at 
an  early  age  were  obliged  to  rely  upon  ourselves,  and  en- 
tering upon  life  with  this  discipline  soon  discovered  the 
path  to  eminence.  Bat  with  these  facts  daily  in  remem- 
brance, in  the  treatment  of  our  children  we  reverse  the 
principles  which  all  our  experience  has  so  fully  verified. 
We  make  it  the  business  of  our  lives  to  exclude  them 
from  the  very  conditions  to  which  we  owe  our  success, 
and  surround  them  with  the  very  perils  which  were  fatal 
to  our  contemporaries.  How  shall  we  account  for  so 
universal  an  abandonment  of  the  lessons  of  reason  and 
experience  ?  Can  it  be  possible  that  we  are  honest  with 
ourselves  in  this  matter  ?  May  it  not  be  the  fact  that 
under  the  cover  of  love  to  our  children,  there  lurks  con- 
cealed within  us  the  base  and  miserly  love  of  simple 
accumulation  ? 

If  the  perils  of  riches  are  thus  alarming,  a  disclplo  of 
Christ  is  certainly  bound  frequently  to  pause  wd  ast 

10* 


226  THE    PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

himself  whether  it  would  be  either  wise  or  right  lo  spend 
any  greater  portion  of  his  life  in  the  acquisition  of  wealth. 
It  may  aid  him  in  forming  his  decision  on  this  subject,  to 
read  the  words  of  the  Master.  His  teachings  contain 
warnings  such  as  these,  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  trea- 
sures on  earth,  where  moth  and  rust  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  break  through  and  steal ;  but  lay  up  for  your- 
selves treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust 
corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor 
steal.  Take  no  thought,  saying,  what  shall  we  eat  or 
what  shall  we  drink,  or  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed, 
but  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
ness and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  to  you.  Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the 
eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  When  his  disciples  were  astonished  at  this 
saying,  our  Lord  continued,  how  hard  is  it  for  those  who 
trust  in  riches  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and 
then  he  repeated  his  previous  assertion.  By  this  he 
evidently  intended  to  teach  us,  that  it  is  hardly  possible 
for  us  to  be  rich  without  trusting  in  riches  ;  and  to  trust 
in  riches  is  fatal.  Hear  also  the  words  of  the  text  in  which 
the  moral  perils  of  wealth  are.  most  solemnly  set  forth. 
But  they  that  will  be  rich  fall  into  temptation,  and  a 
snare,  and  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown 
men  in  destruction  and  perdition.  For  the  love  of  money 
is  the  root  of  all  evil,  which  while  some  have  coveted  after, 
they  have  erred  from  the  faith  and  have  pierced  them- 


THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES.  227 

selves  through  with  many  sorrows.  But  thou,  0  man  of 
God,  flee  these  things.  He  who  will  meditate  on  these 
solemn  admonitions,  and  the  Word  of  God  is  filled  with 
them,  may  surely  find  reason  to  ask  himself,  can  I  any 
longer,  with  a  good  conscience,  devote  myself  to  the  accu- 
mulation of  the  treasure  that  perisheth  ? 

III.  But  it  will  doubtless  be  said,  suppose  we  do  this, 
and  cease  from  further  accumulation,  in  what  man- 
ner shall  we  spend  the  remainder  of  our  lives  ?  The 
gospel  does  not  allow  us  to  live  in  idleness.  This  is  an 
important  inquiry,  and  we  must  attempt  briefly  to  an- 
swer it. 

I  here  address  myself  to  those  who  have  given  them- 
selves without  reserve  to  Christ,  who  expect  to  be  par- 
doned through  his  sacrifice,  who  have  pledged  themselves 
to  obey  all  his  commandments,  and  who  daily  pray  that  his 
will  may  be  done  on  earth  even  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 
Let  such  a  man  think  for  a  moment  upon  the  condition 
of  our  race,  more  than  eighteen  centuries  after  the  Son 
of  God  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself  has  opened  wide  the 
gate  of  heaven  to  every  one  who  will  believe.  Let  him 
survey  the  hundreds  of  millions  still  groaning  under  the 
curse  of  paganism,  in  whose  hearing  even  the  name  of 
the  Saviour  has  never  yet  been  uttered.  Let  him  look 
upon  the  nations  nominally  Christian,  and  observe  how  a 
religion  bearing  the  name  of  Christ,  but  more  corrupt 
and  debasing  than  paganism  itself,  is  pressing  with  the 
weight  of  ages  upon  prostrate  humanity.     Let  him  then 


228  THE     PEKILS     OF     KICHES. 

turn  to  the  lands  most  favored  with  the  light  of  the 
gospel,  and  reflect  upon  the  wrongs  of  oppression,  the 
misery  inflicted  by  intemperance,  the  myriads  of  souls 
offered  up  annually  for  the  gratification  of  lust,  the  in- 
creasing godiessness  of  our  whole  population,  while  the  very 
church  of  Grod  is  retreating  before  her  enemies,  or  com- 
promising her  principles  to  maintain  a  nominal  existence  ; 
let  him  think  of  all  this  when  he  prays  Thy  kingdom 
come,  and  he  will  surely  be  in  no  danger  of  suffering 
from  want  of  employment.  And  more  than  this,  he  will 
be  convinced  that  this  world  can  never  be  regenerated 
until  every  disciple  of  Christ  devotes  himself  with  his 
whole  soul  to  the  work  of  its  salvation.  To  leave  it  to  an 
ecclesiastical  caste,  is  to  concede  that  the  object  for  which 
the  Son  of  God  died  can  never  be  accomplished.  It  was 
when  the  people  had  a  mind  to  work  that  the  wall  of 
Jerusalem  was  built.  And  this  reign  of  Christ  can 
never  be  established  on  earth,  until  every  disciple  is 
ready  to  forsake  houses  and  lands  for  his  sake  and  the 
gospel's. 

But  suppose  a  Christian  brother  having  overcome  the 
love  of  wealth,  is  willing  to  consecrate  himself  to  the 
cause  of  his  Master,  in  what  manner  can  he  best  employ 
himself.-  To  this  I  might  reply  in  general,  if  he  is  really 
willing  to  labor,  the  Master  will  soon  find  for  him  abun- 
dant occupation.  On  this  subject,  however,  a  few  prac- 
tical suggestions  may  not  be  inappropriate. 

A  disciple  of  Christ   wiio  has  resolved    to   labor  no 


THE    PEEILS    OF     KICHES.  229 

longer  for  accumulation,  will  naturally  deliberate  on  the 
question  whether  he  shall  relinquish  his  business  or  con- 
tinue in  it.  The  question  he  must  decide  for  himself,  in 
view  of  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed,  and  of 
his  own  particular  aptitudes. 

Suppose  then  that  a  disciple  of  Christ,  convinced  that 
he  can  proceed  no  farther  in  the  work  of  accumulation, 
resolves  to  release  himself  from  secular  pursuits,  where 
shall  he  find  adequate  employment  ?  To  this  I  answer, 
First,  it  may  be  his  duty  to  enter  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation. For  this  form  of  Christian  labor  his  habits  of 
business,  his  knowledge  of  the  world,  his  experience  of 
the  temptations  to  which  men  in  active  life  are  exposed, 
his  acquaintance  with  the  ordinary  modes  of  thought  on 
religious  subjects,  and  the  subterfuges  under  which  the 
neglect  of  religion  hides  itself,  would  confer  on  him  pecu- 
liar advantages.  He  may  not,  it  is  true,  be  familiar 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  schools  ;  but,  I  ask,  is  it  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  schools,  or  the  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart,  that  the  pulpit  of  the  present  day  is  most 
palpably  deficient.  Is  not  the  latter,  to  say  the  least,  as 
indispensable  to  the  preacher  of  the  gospel  as  the  former. 
The  common  complaint  against  our  preaching  is,  that  it 
is  dry,  abstract,  bookish  and  metaphysical,  or  else  poeti- 
cal, imaginative,  and  morally  unimpressive.  We  prepare 
ourselves  for  the  ministry  by  the  study  of  books,  se- 
cluded as  far  as  possible  from  all  intercourse  with  man- 
kind.    Would  not  the  churches  hail  with  delight  a  class 


230  THE     PERILS    OF     RICHES. 

of  preachers  who.  had  prepared  themselves  for  their  work 
by  a  large  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  men.  I 
believe  that  the  walks  of  mercantile  and  professional  life 
could  easily  furnish  us  with  ten  times  as  many  useful 
and  acceptable  preachers  of  the  gospel,  as  all  the  theo- 
logical seminaries  in  the  land. 

If  I  do  not  mistake,  there  is  at  this  moment,  a  multi- 
tude of  men  engaged  in  secular  pursuits,  who  in  youth 
have  silenced  their  convictions  of  duty,  and  have  borne 
about  with  them  ever  since  the  painful  conviction  that 
they  ought  to  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel.  The  prospect  of  worldly  gain  overcame 
the  monitions  of  conscience  ;  and  they  quieted  her  up- 
braidings  with  the  promise  that  when  they  had  acquired 
a  competence,  they  would  devote  themselves  exclusively 
to  works  of  religious  usefulness.  While  engaged  in  the 
hot  pursuit  of  wealth  they  almost  forget  their  bygoue 
vows  ;  but  when  the  hand  of  affliction  presses  heavily 
upon  them,  or  when  the  influences  from  on  high  quicken 
them  to  spiritual  life,  the  question  addressed  to  the  wan- 
dering prophet  sounds  solemnly  in  their  ears,  What  doest 
thou  here,  Elijah  ?  Never  in  the  history  of  the  church, 
was  the  aid  of  such  men  so  much  needed  as  at  present. 
Let  them  delay  no  longer  to  perform  their  vows,  and  now 
that  all  things  have  been  added  to  them,  seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness. 

Again,  there  are  others  to  whom  the  gift  of  teaching 
and  public  address  has  not  been  given,  who  are  largely 


THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES.  231 

endowed  with  administrative  talents.  They  are  capable 
of  conducting  extended  and  complicated  operations  with 
singular  facility  and  success.  The  services  of  such  men 
are  greatly  needed  in  the  management  of  all  our  benevo- 
lent associations.  Our  societies  for  the  promotion  of 
religion  and  the  relief  of  distress,  for  the  reformation  of 
offenders  and  the  suppression  of  vice,  all  stand  greatly  in 
need  of  the  labors  of  pious  laymen,  endowed  with  the 
talent  of  managing  affairs.  At  present,  from  the  neces- 
sity of  the  case,  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  to  a  great 
extent  pressed  into  this  service.  Men  complain  that  in 
this  work  we  are  unskillful,  and  conduct  the  affairs  com- 
mitted to  our  charge,  on  the  principles  of  brotherhood 
rather  than  of  business.  This  may  be  true,  but  we  do  as 
well  as  we  can.  Why  do  they  not  relieve  us  and  assume 
the  responsibility  themselves  ?  They  can  transact  busi- 
ness much  better  than  we,  and  we  had  much  rather  give 
ourselves  to  prayer  and  the  ministry  of  the  word.  If 
other  men  would  undertake  this  service,  they  would 
enable  a  large  number  of  our  most  useful  ministers 
to  return  to  their  appropriate  work,  and  also  add 
greatly  to  the  efficiency  of  our  means  for  evangelizing  the 
world. 

But  when  all  this  has  been  done,  by  far  the  widest 
field  for  Christian  labor  remains  still  unoccupied.  There 
exists  not  a  city,  or  town,  or  village,  or  neighborhood  in 
our  country,  in  which  there  may  not  be  found  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  people  unblessed  by  any  proper  knowledge  of 


232  THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

the  truths  of  religion.  In  our  large  cities  this  portion  of 
our  populace  greatly  outnumbers  the  attendants  upon  the 
sanctuary.  In  fact  they  have  no  sanctuary.  Our  churches 
are  built  and  furnished,  and  our  services  are  conducted, 
for  the  rich  ;  the  poor  will  not  and  can  not  enter  them. 
They  therefore  grow  up  strangers  to  religious  culture, 
either  at  home  or  abroad,  and  yield  at  once  to  the  temp- 
tations of  sensuality  and  vice.  They  spend  their  sab- 
baths in  rioting  and  excess,  and  corrupted  and  corrupting, 
the  infection  of  their  example  is  ever  drawing  multitudes 
within  the  reach  of  its  influence.  Intemperance  and 
licentiousness  sweep  them  off  by  thousands,  and  yet  their 
number  increases  with  appalling  rapidity.  We  have 
Maine  laws  and  vagrant  acts,  we  have  magistrates  and 
policemen,  we  have  night  watchmen  and  day  watchmen, 
we  have  prisons  and  jails,  we  have  houses  of  reformation 
for  youth  and  for  adults,  and  yet  the  spirit  that  worketh 
in  the  children  of  disobedience  laughs  at  our  efforts  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  evil.  Intemperance  increases.  The 
tide  of  licentiousness  is  rising  higher  and  higher,  carry- 
ing misery  and  debasement  into  thousands  of  households 
that  the  world  knows  not  of.  Crime  against  both  person 
and  property  multiplies  beyond  precedent.  Poverty, 
squalid  and  despairing,  the  cause  and  the  result  of  vice, 
nestles  in  every  unfrequented  suburb,  and  in  every  filthy 
alley.  We  now  and  then  detect  and  imprison  an  offender. 
We  sometimes  rescue  from  misery  a  single  victim.  But 
it   is  commonly  acknowledged,  that,   especially  in  our 


THE     PERILS    OF     RICHES.  233 

cities,  a  large  portion  of  our  population,  with  intellects 
quickened  and  passions  inflamed  by  the  progress  of  civili- 
zation, are  passing  their  probation  under  moral  condi- 
tions vastly  more  awful  than  those  of  the  most  benighted 
heathen. 

Can  nothing  be  done  to  arrest  the  progress  of  evil,  and 
rescue  these  perishing  millions  from  misery  here  and  per- 
dition hereafter  ?  Is  there  no  balm  in  G-ilead,  is  there  no 
Physician  there  ?  Why  then  is  not  the  health  of  the 
daughter  of  my  people  recovered  ?  Will  it  ever  be  re- 
covered by  the  remedies  at  present  administered  ?  Can 
the  disease  be  cured  by  the  erection  of  magnificent  tem- 
ples to  Jesus  of  Nazareth  from  which  the  poor,  to  whom 
he  preached  the  gospel,  are  virtually  excluded  ?  Will 
the  cure  be  effected  by  a  few  ministers  of  the  word,  whose 
power  is  exhausted  in  the  attempt  to  render  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  acceptable  to  the  intelligent  and  refined,  the 
opulent  and  the  fastidious  ?  Can  we  expect  a  reforma- 
tion from  our  Sabbath-schools,  filled  as  these  schools  fre- 
quently are  with  children  who  might  be  instructed  at 
home  ?  Alas  !  such  means  as  these  are  wholly  inade- 
quate to  the  accomplishment  of  our  object.  An  effort 
far  more  universal  is  required,  if  we  would  arrest  the 
progress  of  iniquity,  and  subdue  our  cities  and  towns, 
nay  our  whole  country,  unto  God.  Christian  men  and 
women  must  give  themselves  individually  to  this  work. 
Why  should  not  every  church  in  city  and  in  country  un- 
dertake, in  the  strength  of  Grod,  the  conversion  of  the 


234  TEE     PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

souls  in  its  vicinity  ?  Why  should  not  every  neighbor- 
hood be  divided  into  districts,  and  apportioned  out  among 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  so  that  each  one  may  have  his  ap- 
propriate field  of  labor  ?  The  brethren  who  have  relin- 
quished the  pursuit  of  gain  for  the  love  of  Christ,  would 
find  delightful  occupation  in  systematizing  and  directing 
efforts  of  this  kind,  and  in  furnishing  examples  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  work  should  be  done.  Oh,  could 
the  disciples  of  Christ  of  every  name  unite  in  a  universal 
effort  thus  to  fulfill  the  commands  of  their  Master,  there 
is  not  an  abandoned  neighborhood  in  the  most  licentious 
of  our  cities,  that  would  not  be  transformed  into  a  dwell- 
ing-place of  righteousness  ;  there  is  not  a  moral  desert 
among  us  that  would  not  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 
Nothing  but  such  an  effort  can  save  us.  Such  an  effort, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  can  save  us.  Why  should  not 
the  effort  be  made  ? 

But,  in  the  next  place,  there  may  be  many  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ  engaged  in  secular  business,  from  which 
they  can  not  disengage  themselves,  and  others  whose 
talent  is  specially  adapted  to  the  management  of  large 
financial  operations.  Such  men  may  nevertheless  be 
convinced  that  they  have  no  right  to  devote  the  remain- 
der of  their  lives  to  the  purpose  of  accumulation.  They 
have  already  made  provision  for  every  reasonable  want, 
and  they  recognize  their  obligation  to  devote  their  re- 
maining gains  to  the  service  of  their  Lord.  Let  such 
men  continue  in  their  calling,  pursuing  it  with  diligence 


THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES.  235 

and  energy  as  co-workers  with  Christ.  A  Christian  la- 
boring thus,  and  ceasing  to  accumulate,  will  be  enabled 
at  once  to  enter  upon  the  noblest  enterprizes  of  benevo- 
lence. The  poor  and  destitute  around  him,  by  judicious 
assistance  and  timely  advice,  may  be  delivered  from  the 
fear  of  poverty,  by  learning  how  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves. The  ignorant,  near  and  afar  off,  may  through 
his  liberality  be  blessed  with  the  means  of .  education. 
The  gospel  planted  by  his  labors  may  gladden  the  heart 
of  many  a  wanderer  in  the  wide-spreading  west,  and  thus 
the  foundation  of  coming  empires  be  established  upon  the 
principles  of  immutable  justice  and  reciprocal  good  will. 
He  may  go  beyond  the  confines  of  his  own  country,  and 
embracing  in  the  arms  of  Christian  love  the  whole  family 
of  man,  establish  missions  among  far  distant  heathen, 
and  plant  the  standard  of  the  cross  among  nations  that 
for  thousands  of  years  have  been  sitting  in  the  region  and 
shadow  of  death.  All  these  blessed  enterprizes  are  open 
before  him,  and  he  may  choose  from  them  that  which  he 
prefers,  or  he  may  labor  according  to  his  ability  in  them 
all.  He  may  put  on  righteousness  as  a  clothing,  his 
judgment  may  be  a  robe  and  a  diadem.  When  the 
ear  hears  him  it  shall  bless  him,  and  when  the  eye  sees 
him  it  shall  give  witness  unto  Mm,  because  he  delivers 
the  poor  when  he  crieth,  the  fatherless  and  him  that 
hath  none  to  help  him.  The  blessing  of  him  that 
was  ready  to  perish  shall  come  upon  him,  for  he  has 
caused  the  widow's  heart  to  leap  for  joy.     All  this  is  well, 


236  THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

but  it  is  only  a  small  part  of  his  reward.  He  shall  walk 
all  day  in  the  light  of  his  Saviour's  countenance.  The 
consciousness  shall  ever  abide  with  him  that  he  is  not 
living  to  himself,  but  to  the  Saviour  that  died  for  him. 
Christ  shall  dwell  in  his  heart  by  faith.  Being  rooted 
and  grounded  in  love,  he  shall  be  able  to  know  the 
length  and  breadth  and  depth  and  height  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  and  shall  be  filled  with 
all  the  fullness  of  God  ;  and  when  he  is  called  home  to 
his  reward,  an  entrance  shall  abundantly  be  administered 
to  him  into  the  kingdom  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  My  Christian  brother,  you  may  if  you  will  enter 
upon  such  a  life  as  this.  Dare  you  turn  from  it  to  the 
weak  and  beggarly  elements  of  a  perishing  world.  Fix 
your  eyes  on  Calvary,  and  tell  your  ascended  Kedeemer 
what  manner  of  life  you  intend  henceforward  to  choose. 

But  you  may  reply,  We  aid  in  all  these  good  designs 
already  ;  what  lack  we  yet  ?  I  doubt  not  that  you  aid 
them,  but  I  fear  lest  all  you  have  thus  far  done  will  hardly 
save  you  from  the  condemnation  of  him  who  hid  his  lord's 
talent  in  a  napkin.  Let  us  look  for  a  moment  on  the 
facts  of  the  case.  You  believe  that  after  moral  character, 
education  is  the  greatest  of  earthly  blessings — and  you 
pay  your  tax  for  the  support  of  public  schools.  Why 
do  you  not  from  your  own  means  establish  schools  for 
the  destitute  ;  or  like  Peter  Cooper  and  Amos,  Abbott, 
and  William  Lawrence,  bestow  upon  coming  generations 
the  richest  treasures  of  science  and  the  largest  knowledge 


THE     PERILS     OF    RICHES.  237 

of  the  works  of  God.  You  believe  it  to  be  of  the  great- 
est importance  to  furnish  our  whole  population,  especially 
the  young,  with  the  opportunity  for  extensive  and  valu- 
able reading — and  you  pay  your  annual  subscription  to 
a  library  in  your  neighborhood.  Why  do  you  not,  like 
G-eorge  Peabody  and  Joshua  Bates,  provide  for  the  town 
that  nurtured  you,  as  valuable  and  abundant  means  for 
intellectual  and  moral  culture  as  any  man  could  desire  ? 
You  believe  that  those  whom  God  has  called  to  the  min- 
istry should  receive  as  valuable  culture  as  their  circum- 
stances will  allow — and  you  pay  your  annual  subscription 
to  an  education  society.  Why  do  you  not,  by  donation 
or  loan,  assist  a  score  of  men  thus  to  enlarge  the  field 
of  their  usefulness  ?  You  can  select  them  as  wisely,  and 
watch  over  them  as  carefully,  as  any  education  society, 
and  you  will  thus  do  it  with  much  greater  benefit  to  your 
own  soul.  You  are  convinced  of  the  importance  of  home 
missions,  and  mourn  over  the  moral  desolation  that  over- 
spreads many  of  our  old  and  all  of  our  newly  settled 
States — and  you  are  a  life  member  of  some  Home  Mis- 
sion Society.  Why  are  you  not  a  Home  Mission  Society 
yourself?  Why  do  you  not  establish  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel  in  twenty  villages  of  the  West,  and  thus  dis- 
tribute the  bread  of  life  every  Sabbath-clay  to  twenty 
congregations  of  perishing  men  ?  You  believe  that 
Christ  has  commanded  us  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature  ;  you  think  well  of  foreign  missions — and  you 
make  an   annual   contribution   of   a  few   dollars   to   a 


238  THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

Foreign  Mission  Society.  Why  do  you  not  establish  a 
mission  yourself,  selecting  the  field,  sending  forth  and 
supporting  the  heralds  of  salvation,  and  being  yourself 
the  instrument  of  bringing  a  nation  into  obedience  to 
Christ  ? 

When  Kobert  Haldane,  nephew  to  the  Earl  of  Cam- 
pcrdown,  became  a  disciple  of  Christ,  he  disposed  of 
his  splendid  estate  at  Airthrey,  to  obtain  the  means  for 
establishing  a  mission  in  India  ;  intending  of  course  to 
lead  the  enterprize  himself.  He  had  selected  his  asso- 
ciates and  matured  his  arrangements,  when  the  whole 
plan  was  frustrated  through  the  opposition  of  the  Direc- 
tors of  the  East  India  Company.  His  efforts  in  this  di- 
rection being  arrested,  he  turned  his  attention  first  to 
his  own  country,  and  devoted  his  large  income  to  the 
education  of  pious  men  for  the  ministry,  and  the  erection 
of  houses  of  worship  in  destitute  places,  and  thus  became, 
in  fact,  a  Home  Mission  Society  for  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Scotland.  Through  his  labors  and  those  of 
his  brother,  an  extensive  revival  of  religion  was  witnessed 
in  every  part  of  that  land.  His  attention  was  then  turned 
to  the  Continent,  and  he  spent  several  years  in  Greneva, 
laboring  in  faith  to  sow  the  seed  of  the  gospel  where 
formalism  had  usurped  the  place  of  Christianity.  Abun- 
dant success  here  also  attended  his  efforts,  and  all  the 
evangelical  religion  now  existing  in  the  city  of  Calvin,  is 
the  fruit  of  his  labors.  There  are  among  us  many  dis- 
ciples of  Christ  who  might  well  follow  the  example  of 


THE     PEKILS     OF     RICHES.  239 

Robert  Haldane,  and  who,  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
might  reap  a  similar  harvest. 

The  late  Joseph  John  Gurney  was  a  man  of  similar 
spirit.  During  the  early  part  of  his  life  he  was  the 
leading  partner  in  an  extensive  banking-house.  In  mid- 
dle life  he  became  satisfied  that  it  was  his  duty  to  cease 
from  accumulation.  He  gradually  retired  from  active 
business,  so  far  as  it  was  in  his  power,  and  devoted  him- 
self to  labors  for  the  extension  of  the  gospel  and  the 
welfare  of  humanity.  His  benefactions  in  aid  of  every 
good  design  were  such  as  became  his  character.  For- 
saking the  comforts  of  Earlham,  the  spot  which  he  loved 
so  well,  he  spent  three  years  of  incessant  gospel  labor  in 
this  country  and  the  West  Indies.  The  remainder  of 
his  life  was  employed  mainly  in  journeys  on  the  conti- 
nent, in  preaching  Christ  crucified  to  men  of  every  rank, 
distributing  bibles  and  tracts,  and  pleading  with  men  in 
authority  for  those  who  were  suffering  persecution  for 
conscience'  sake.  My  brethren,  let  us  meditate  on  such 
examples  ;  and  seeing  we  are  encompassed  by  so  great  a 
crowd  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
the  sin  that  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  run  with  patience 
the  race  which  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus  the 
author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who,  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  is  now  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
throne  of  God. 

But  it  may  be  said,  do  you  intend  to  throw  the  burden 


240  THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

of  charity  solely  on  the  wealthy  ?  Is  not  benevolence 
the  duty  of  all  men  ?  Why  then  single  us  out,  as 
though  we  were  alone  responsible  for  the  progress  of  the 
religion  which  we  profess. 

I  reply,  it  is  perfectly  right  that  you  should  be  sin- 
gled out  as  the  leaders  in  every  good  work.  The  greater 
part  of  mankind  are  obliged  to  labor  for  little  more  than 
a  mere  subsistence.  A  smaller  number  are  only  begin- 
ning to  accumulate  something.  The  providence  of  God 
has  delivered  you  from  the  fear  of  want  and  the  neces- 
sity of  personal  labor.  You  then  are  the  very  persons 
whom  God  has  prepared  for  the  work  of  Christian  benefi- 
cence. Nay,  if  you  carry  out  the  principles  of  yeur 
religious  profession,  in  what  other  manner  can  you  spend 
the  remainder  of  your  life.  Those  who  are  forced  to 
labor  for  their  personal  support,  are  denied  the  privilege 
which  has  been  granted  to  you.  We  ask  you  to  render 
unto  God  according  to  his  benefits.  Is  not  this  just  ? 
We  ask  for  nothing  more. 

Besides,  your  example  would  quicken  the  pulse  of 
charity  throughout  the  whole  multitude  of  Christ's  dis- 
ciples. Laboring  men  will  emulate  your  deeds  of  mercy, 
and  thus  a  new  impulse  will  be  given  to  the  whole  church 
of  Christ.  You  are  not  probably  aware  that  rich  Chris- 
tians are,  most  commonly,  obstacles  to  the  progress  of 
the  gospel.  The  amount  of  your  pecuniary  ability  is 
better  known  than  you  suppose.  The  ratio  of  your 
charities   to    your    income   is   pretty   well   ascertained. 


THE    PERILS    OF    RICHES.  241 

Other  men  measure  themselves  by  the  standard  which 
you  have  established,  and  hence  the  aggregate  of  our 
offerings  to  Ghrist  is  so  meagre.  I  said  measure  them- 
selves by  your  standard,  but  it  is  not  so.  Your  charities 
impose  ou  you  not  the  shadow  of  a  sacrifice.  Did  poor 
men  give  only  within  this  limit  the  fountains  of  religious 
benevolence  would  be  well  nigh  dried  up.  Should  your 
zeal  provoke  them  to  emulation,  the  host  of  God's  elect 
would  be  excited  to  universal  effort,  and  a  new  era  would 
dawn  upon  the  church  of  God. 

And,  lastly,  some  one  may  say  that  I  am  transcending 
the  limits  assigned  to  a  teacher  of  religion,  and  prescrib- 
ing to  other  men  what  they  shall  do  with  their  own 
property.  Not  so,  my  brother.  What  you  have  honestly 
earned,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  is  your  own,  and  with 
your  disposal  of  it  we  pretend  not  to  interfere.  Whatever 
we  may  say,  you  will  do  with  it  just  what  you  please, 
and  we  would  not  if  we  could  prevent  you.  But,  as  you 
profess  to  obey  without  reserve  the  commands  of  Christ, 
it  is  surely  competent  to  us  to  show  you  what  the  com- 
mands of  Christ  are.  We  desire  simply  to  point  out  to 
you  what  your  profession  of  discipleship  involves.  Having 
done  this  we  rest.  It  is  for  you  to  decide  whether  what 
we  have  said  is  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Master,  and  if  it  be,  whether  you  will  or  will  not  obey  it. 
If  we  have  faithfully  and  in  love  made  known  to  you  the 
will  of  the  Lord,  our  duty  is  done.  The  rest  remains 
with  you. 

11 


242  THE     PERILS     OF     RICHES. 

Christian  brethren,  we  beg  you  to  consider  these  things, 
Kemember  the  saying  of  the  Lord,  That  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.  Kemember  his  example; 
though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor,  that 
we  through  his  poverty  might  be  made  rich.  Observe 
the  awful  peril  which  attends  upon  the  laying  up  of 
treasure  on  the  earth.  Kemark  the  effect  which  accumu- 
lation has  already  produced  on  your  religious  character. 
Estimate  if  you  can  the  blessings  which,  by  devoting 
yourselves  in  faith  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  you  might  con- 
fer upon  humanity ;  the  hearts  which  you  might  gladden, 
the  ignorant  whom  you  might  enlighten,  the  vicious 
whom  you  might  reclaim,  and  the  souls  whom  you  might 
rescue  from  eternal  death.  Think  of  the  peace  which  the 
Kedeemer  sheds  abroad  in  the  soul  of  the  faithful,  and 
the  crown  of  life  which  he  bestows  upon  those  who  for- 
sake houses  and  lands  for  his  sake  and  the  gospel's. 
Think  of  all  this,  redeemed  sinner,  and  compare  it  witri 
all  that  can  be  hoped  for  from  a  life  of  successful  worldli- 
ness,  and  form  your  decision  in  the  sight  of  Him  before 
whom  all  born  of  woman  will  shortly  be  gathered.  The 
Lord  help  you  to  decide  wisely.  And  may  the  God  of 
peace,  that  brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the 
blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  make  you  perfect  in 
all  things  to  do  his  will,  working  in  you  that  which  is 
well-pleasing  in  his  sight  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom 
be  glory  forever.     Amen. 


SERMON    VII. 

PREVALENT      PRATER. 

If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will, 
and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you. — John',  xv.  7. 

You  must  all  have  observed,  my  brethren,  the  impor- 
tance which  the  Scriptures  attach  to  the  subject  of 
prayer.  We  are  exhorted  to  pray  always,  lifting  up  holy 
hands  without  wrath  or  doubting.  We  are  encouraged 
in  all  things,  by  prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiv- 
ing, to  make  our  wants  known  unto  God.  It  is  the  in- 
tention of  our  Father  in  heaven  that  our  lives  should  be 
a  continual  prayer,  that  in  all  our  concerns,  whether 
great  or  small,  we  should  ask  his  direction,  expecting  his 
blessing,  and  return  to  him  without  ceasing  our  tribute 
of  grateful  adoration.  It  is  our  privilege  to  live  ever  in 
intimate  communion  with  God  ;  so  that  the  spiritual  in- 
tercourse between  us  and  the  Creator  should  be  as  unlim- 
ited and  as  incessant  as  our  dependence  upon  him. 

In  the  New  Testament  this  subject  assumes  a  new  and 
even  more  interesting  aspect.  Sinners  might  well  shrink 
back  from  approaching  a  God  of  infinite  holiness.  From 
the  abyss  of  our  moral  degradation,  it  might  seem  pre- 
sumptuous to  lift  up  our  eyes  to  the  place  where  his 


244  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

honor  dwelleth.  But  the  gospel  reveals  to  us  an  atoning 
sacrifice,  an  all-prevailing  intercessor,  who  has  purchased 
our  pardon,  through  whose  merits  we  are  invited  to  draw 
near  unto  God.  Approaching  the  mercy-seat  in  his  name, 
we  may  cast  behind  us  our  own  un worthiness;  and  pleading 
the  atoning  sacrifice  of  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  ask 
for  all  that  we  need,  in  the  full  assurance  that  God  will 
hear  us  for  the  sake  of  the  beloved.  We  thus  have  bold- 
ness to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a 
new  and  living  way  which  he  hath  consecrated  for  us. 
Such  is  the  new  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  God,  the 
Judge  of  all,  in  consequence  of  the  death  and  sacrifice 
of  his  well-beloved  Son. 

But  more  than  •  this :  God  has,  in  the  most  explicit 
manner,  assured  us  that  he  will  answer  our  prayers.  It 
is  not  needful  for  me  here  to  pause  and  inquire  about  the 
manner  in  which  the  fulfillment  of  this  promise  may  be 
reconciled  with  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  decrees  ;  or  with 
the  truth  that  God  governs  the  universe  by  general  laws. 
God  has  declared  that  he  never  disregards  the  feeblest 
supplication  of  the  least  of  his  children.  Faith  asks  for 
no  firmer  reliance  than  the  word  of  the  unchanging  God. 
Our  Lord  has  said  to  us,  Ask  and  ye  shall  receive,  seek 
and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you. 
If  ye,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  Jiow  much  more  shall  your  Father  in  heaven 
give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him  ?  Whatsoever  ye 
ask  the  Father  in  my  name,  he  will  give  it  you.     The 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  245 

Scriptures  clearly  teach,  that  whatsoever  we  ask  for, 
under  the  conditions  which  God  has  revealed,  will  be 
granted  to  us,  not  indeed  according  to  the  measure  of 
our  unwise  desires,  hut  the  measure  dictated  by  omnis- 
cient knowledge  and  infinite  love. 

I  need  not  remind  you,  that  the  word  of  God  is  filled 
•with  examples  of  answers  to  prayer,  for  every  conceivable 
blessing.  Our  great  High  Priest  himself  offered  up 
prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears, 
unto  him  that  was  able  to  save  him  from  death,  and  was 
heard  in  that  he  feared.  The  prayers  of  nations  have 
often  prevailed  to  avert  a  national  calamity.  The  prayers 
of  individuals,  such  as  Moses  and  Samuel  and  £>avid, 
have  been  answered  in  the  salvation  of  a  whole  people 
from  pestilence  and  utter  destruction.  The  prayers  of 
saints  for  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  mercies,  for  them- 
selves, for  each  other,  and  for  the  people  of  God,  have 
been  abundantly  answered  in  time  past,  and  they  will  be 
answered  in  time  to  come,  unless  the  Spirit  of  inspira- 
tion has  taught  us  to  believe  a  lie.  Our  Lord  places  this 
subject  in  the  strongest  light  when  he  says,  If  ye  have 
faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  ye  shall  say  to  this 
mountain,  be  thou  removed  and  be  thou  cast  into  the 
sea,  and  it  shall  obey  you  ;  and  nothing  shall  be  impos- 
sible to  you.  It  may  be  said,  and  said  truly,  that  this 
language  is  figurative.  But  though  it  be  figurative,  it 
must  mean  something  ;  and  it  can  mean  nothing,  if  it 
does  not  teach,  that  things  utterly  beyond  the  power  of 


246  PREVALENT     PRATER. 

natural  causes,  are  possible  to  the  prayer  of  humble,  ear- 
nest, confiding  faith. 

Such  is  the  teaching  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  we  be- 
lieve it  all  to  be  true  ;  but  how  does  it  correspond  with 
the  facts  which  are  everywhere  transpiring  around  us. 
We  believe  it  to  be  true,  but  we  most  commonly  act  as  if  it 
were  false.  We  generally  pray  with  but  little  expectation 
that  our  prayers  will  really  be  answered,  and  too  frequently 
justify  our  unbelief  by  the  supposition  that  some  change 
must  have  occurred  in  the  manner  of  the  divine  dispen- 
sations. We  take  it  for  granted  that  we  can  not  expect 
God  to  do  at  this  time  as  he  did  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
and  in  the  times  of  the  apostles.  We  have  been  praying 
for  centuries  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  yet  the 
world  is  not  converted.  We  pray  for  a  revival  in  our 
churches,  but  our  churches  are  not  revived.  We  pray  for 
an  increase  of  piety  in  our  own  souls,  but  we  continue 
immersed  and  steeped  in  worldliness.  We  pray  for  the 
conversion  of  our  children,  but  they  grow  up  without 
God  in  the  world.  How  shall  we  account  for  all  this  ? 
Has  God  ceased  to  be  the  unchangeable  God  ?  Is  not 
Christ  Jesus  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever? 
Are  not  his  promises,  as  of  old,  yea  and  amen  ?  Hath  he 
said  and  will  he  not  do  it,  hath  he  spoken  and  will  he 
not  make  it  good  ? 

Such  questions  as  these  may  perhaps  find  the  elements 
of  a  solution  in  the  words  of  the  text.  We  here  find  an 
explicit  and  universal  assurance,  that  the  prayers  of  the 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  247 

people  of  God  will  be  answered.  With  this  is  connected 
the  condition  by  which  this  assurance  is  limited.  The 
promise  is,  Ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done. 
The  condition  is,  If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide 
in  you. 

Let  us  consider  first  the  promise,  and  secondly,  the 
condition. 

I.  The  promise  is,  Ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall 
be  done  unto  you. 

The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  in  reading  these  words, 
is,  their  universality.  The  grant  which  they  contain  is 
as  absolute  as  language  can  make.  Ask  what  ye  will, 
there  is  no  limit  as  to  the  objects  of  prayer.  It  is  like 
the  saying  of  Christ  to  the  Syrophenician  woman,  Be  it 
unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt.  It  shall  be  done.  The 
promise  is  without  a  peradventure.  It  is  fixed  as  the 
ordinances  of  God.  It  is  as  definite  as  the  promise  to 
Noah,  while  the  earth  remaineth,  seed  time  and  harvest, 
cold  and  heat,  summer  and  winter,  and  day  and  night 
shall  not  cease.  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  escape  from 
the  plain  and  literal  meaning  of  the  words  even  if  we 
desired  it. 

But  if  this  be  the  case,  we  naturally  ask,  is  there  no 
restriction  in  the  application  of  this  promise.  It  was 
addressed  originally  to  the  apostles.  Were  not  they  the 
only  persons  to  whom  this  assurance  was  given  ?  This 
is  evidently  an  important  inquiry,  for  on  the  answer  to  it 
depends  our  personal  interest  in  the  whole  matter.     We 


248  PREVALENT     PRATER. 

must  seek  for  the  truth,  here,  not  by  attempting  to 
harmonize  the  words  with  any  theory  of  our  own;  but 
simply  by  examining  the  context  for  ourselves. 

We  ask  then,  was  our  Lord  addressing  his  hearers  as 
apostles,  or  merely  as  disciples  who  stood  in  the  same 
relation  to  him  as  we  do  at  this  moment  ?  Observe  the 
preceding  verses.  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches. 
Were  the  apostles  the  only  branches  of  the  vine  ?  Were 
they  the  only  members  of  the  body  of  which  Christ. is 
the  head  ?  He  that  abideth  in  me  beareth  much  fruit, 
for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing.  Is  this  true  of  the 
apostles  alone,  or  of  every  believer  ?  In  the  verse  imme- 
diately preceding  the  text,  it  is  said,  if  a  man,  (not  an 
apostle)  abide  not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch  and 
men  gather  them  and  cast  them  into  the  fire.  This  is 
certainly  a  general  sentiment.  It  is  as  true  of  you  and 
me,  as  it  was  of  the  eleven  apostles.  Then  follow  the 
words  of  the  text.  If  ye  abide  in  me  and  my  words 
abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will  and  it  shall  be 
done  unto  you.  Our  Lord  proceeds,  in  the  next  verse,  to 
say,  herein  is  my  Father'glorified  that  ye  bear  much  fruit, 
so  shall  ye  be  my  disciples,  not,  my  apostles.  We  can  not 
therefore  give  to  these  words  a  restricted  meaning,  with- 
out doing  violence  to  the  whole  spirit  of  the  passage,  and 
setting  at  defiance  the  plainest  principles  of  interpreta- 
tion. We  must  admit  that  they  announce,  not  a  special 
but  a  general  law  of  the  divine  dispensation.  But  in  the 
laws  of  God's  moral  government,  we  and  the  apostles, 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  249 

and  all  other  men  stand  precisely  on  a  level.  We  are 
authorized  therefore  in  taking  this  promise  just  as  it 
stands,  and  receiving  it  as  our  own,  just  as  much  as  the 
apostles  to  whom  it  was  originally  given. 

II.  Let  us  now,  in  the  second  place,  examine  the  con- 
ditions of  this  wonderful  promise.  If  ye  abide  in  me, 
and  my  words  abide  in  you. 

What  is  meant  by  abiding  in  Christ?  I  think  it  has 
precisely  the  force  of  the  phrase  abide  in  my  love,  used 
in  the  tenth  verse  of  this  chapter.  It  is  to  have  the  love 
of  Christ  within  us,  as  an  all  controlling  motive.  It  is 
analogous  to  the  words  of  the  apostle,  the  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us.  It  is  that  holy,  tender,  grateful  affec- 
tion to  Jesus,  wdiich  is  ever  moving  us  to  do  whatsoever 
will  please  him,  and  which  renders  his  approval  the 
highest  object  of  our  existence.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  being  in  Christ,  or  being  in  his  love.  But  our  Lord 
goes  further,  he  says  abide  in  me,  abide  in  my  love.  He 
speaks  not  of  a  temporary  emotion,  present  to-day  and 
forgotten  to-morrow.  If  we  abide  in  Christ,  he  will  take 
up  his  abode  with  us.  Love  to  him  will  be  the  atmos- 
phere which  wre  breathe,  which  sustains  us  in  life  and 
from  which  we  derive  all  our  spiritual  health  and  vigor. 
It  is  the  permanent  and  stedfast  condition  of  the  soul. 
Thus  saith  the  Apostle  Paul,  I  am  crucified  with  Christ, 
nevertheless  I  live  ;  yet  not  I  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ; 
and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the 

11* 


250  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself 
for  me.     Such  is  it  to  abide  in  Christ. 

The  immediate  result  of  such  a  life  is,  that  his  words 
abide  in  us.  His  precepts  will  be  written  on  our  hearts, 
and  will  control  all  our  affections.  We  shall  not  only  do 
his  will,  but  we  shall  do  it  from  love.  It  will  be  the 
spontaneous  acting  of  the  soul  renewed  and  transformed 
into  the  image  of  Christ.  These  two  ideas,  love  and 
obedience,  are  so  intimately  connected  that  our  Lord  in 
this  chapter  frequently  uses  them  interchangeably.  If 
ye  keep  my  commandments  ye  shall  abide  in  my  love  ; 
he  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it 
is  that  loveth  me.  And  then  again,  if  a  man  love  me  he 
will  keep  my  words  and  the  Father  will  love  him.  This 
is  the  law  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  commandments.  To 
abide  in  Christ  then,  is  to  have  our  affections  supremely 
fixed  on  him  as  the  unchanging  condition  of  the  soul  ; 
and  to  have  his  words  abiding  in  us,  is  to  carry  out  this 
affection  in  universal  obedience  to  his  commandments. 
If  this  be  the  meaning  of  the  words,  the  promise  of  the 
Saviour  is  briefly  this,  if  we,  with  the  whole  heart,  per- 
fectly love  and  perfectly  obey  Christ,  we  may  ask  what 
we  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  us. 

Here  again  you  will  ask,  does  Christ  intend  to  declare 
that  every  child  of  God  receives  all  that  he  asks  for  ?  If 
this  be  the  promise,  it  certainly  is  not  fulfilled.  ~No,  my 
brethren,  this  is  not  quite  the  promise.  Many  of  those 
who  are,  as  we  hope,  his  children,  pray  much  and  receive 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  251 

but  little  answer.  The  apostle  James  declares,  Ye  ask 
and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss.  The  question 
then  returns,  what  is  the  limitation  with  which  this  pas- 
sage is  to  be  understood. 

We  said,  in  the  beginning,  that  the  promise  in  the 
text  is  to  be  taken  absolutely,  and  without  restriction. 
The  words  will  bear  no  other  signification.  Ask  what  ye 
will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you.  In  like  manner  is  the 
condition  annexed  to  it  to  be  taken.  If  the  promise 
speaks  of  perfect  prevalence  in  prayer,  the  condition  in 
like  manner  speaks  of  perfect  love  and  perfect  obedience. 
That  is  to  say,  if  a  man  love  and  serve  God  perfectly,  his 
prayers  will  infallibly  prevail.  And  this,  you  see  at  once, 
is  a  general  principle  in  the  government  of  God.  We 
believe  that  in  heaven,  every  desire  being  holy,  every 
desire  will  be  fully  gratified.  Then  shall  I  be  satisfied, 
saith  the  Psalmist,  when  I  awake  in  thy  likeness.  Thus 
saith  the  Kevelator,  They  shall  not  hunger  any  more,  nor 
thirst  any  more,  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor 
any  heat ;  but  the  Lamb  shall  feed  them  and  lead  them 
to  fountains  of  living  water.  The  meaning  of  these  two 
passages,  though  they  differ  in  form,  is  precisely  the 
same.  They  teach  us  that  the  desires  of  a  holy  soul, 
being  perfectly  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  a  holy  God, 
must  be  fully  gratified. 

But  you  will  say,  these  illustrations  are  taken  from  the 
condition  of  saints  and  angels  in  heaven.  What  has  this 
to  do  with  us  who  are  encompassed  with  infirmity,  who 


252  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

"bear  about  with  us  this  body  of  sin,  and  who  are  daily 
bemoaning  its  power  over  us  ?  The  words  were  spoken, 
not  to  angels  and  glorified  spirits,  but  to  men  like  our- 
selves, who  can  plead  no  perfect  righteousness,  and  can 
boast  no  sinless  obedience. 

We  answer  they  are  intended  to  express  a  general  law  of 
the  divine  dispensation.  They  announce  the  general  rule 
by  which  prevalence  of  prayer  is  graduated,  the  condi- 
tion under  which  God  pledges  his  veracity  to  grant  our 
petitions.  That  is  to  say,  if  the  prayer  of  the  perfectly 
loving  and  obedient  will  infallibly  prevail,  so,  in  any  in- 
ferior degree  will  prayer  prevail,  in  proportion  to  the  per- 
fection of  our  love  and  obedience.  The  words  are  in- 
tended to  unfold  the  relation  which  exists  between  the 
moral  temper  of  our  hearts  and  the  prevalence  of  our 
prayers.  It- is  as  though  he  had  said,  your  love  and 
obedience  is  the  measure  of  the  guaranty  that  your 
prayer  shall  be  answered.  I  do  not  say,  by  any  means, 
that  our  Father  in  Heaven  does  not,  in  compassion  to 
our  infirmity,  frequently  do  much  more  than  he  has 
here  promised.  This  is  all  of  his  superabundant  love  to 
us  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is,  however,  only  as  we  obey  and 
love  him,  that  we  can  plead  his  promise  ;  and,  looking 
up  to  him  with  confidence,  in  lowly  humility,  urge  him 
to  do  even  as  he  has  said. 

The  reason  of  this  rule  is  obvious.  Just  in  proportion 
as  we  abide  in  the  love  of  Christ,  and  his  words  abide  in 
us,  his  Spirit  dwells  within  us,  teaching  us  how  to  pray, 


PKEVALENT     PRAYER.  253 

and  what  to  pray  for.  The  desires  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  kindles  in  the  soul,  must  be  according  to  the  will  of 
God.  The  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities,  for  we  know 
not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought,  but  the  Spirit 
maketh  intercession  for  us.  The  desires  of  a  soul  per- 
vaded by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  must  be  holy, 
and  they  can  not  but  be  gratified  by  a  holy  God.  Our 
prayers  are  then  nothing  else  than  the  perfections  of  God 
reflected  from  the  soul  of  the  believer,  and  he  must  act 
in  harmony  with  them,  unless  he  deny  himself.  The 
desires  of  a  holy  soul  in  heaven  must  be  gratified,  for  they 
are  emanations  of  the  divine  will.  The  desires  of  a  soul 
in  hell  must  be  ever  unsatisfied,  for  they  are,  of  necessity, 
perfectly  at  enmity  with  God.  And  so,  between  these 
two  extremes,  wherever  prayer  proceeds  from  a  loving 
and  obedient  spirit  it  will  be  answered  ;  and  the  abun- 
dance of  the  answer,  will,  according  to  the  condition  in  the 
text,  be  measured  by  our  attainments  in  holiness.  It  is 
the  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  that 
availeth  much. 

But  we  need  hardly  appeal  to  the  Scriptures  to  con- 
firm a  truth  which  is,  in  fact,  legibly  written  on  the  con- 
science of  man.  Wicked  men  on  their  deathbeds,  or  in 
any  imminent  peril,  feel  the  need  of  help  from  on  high, 
but  have  no  confidence  whatever  in  the  prevalence  of 
their  own  prayers  ;  they  therefore  call  upon  the  most 
pious  man  they  know  of,  to  pray  for  them.  No  matter 
though  he  be  a  man  whom  they  have  injured  and  scoffed 


254  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

at,  arid  scorned,  they  come  to  him  in  lowly  humiliation, 
and  beseech  him  to  intercede  for  them  before  the  mercy- 
seat.  What  is  this  but  a  practical  version  of  the  text,  If 
ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask 
what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you  ? 

While,  however,  we  thus  speak,  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  God  does  not  pledge  himself  to  answer  our  prayers 
literally  in  the  manner,  and  at  the  time  we  may  desire. 
He  answers  according  to  infinite  love,  guided  by  omnis- 
cient wisdom,  and  not  according  to  our  finite  knowledge. 
He  may  not  give  us  precisely  what  we  ask  for,  because  he 
desires  to  give  us  something  incomparably  better.  He 
may  not  answer  us  at  the  instant,  but  he  reserves  for  us 
something  in  the  future,  tenfold  more  valuable.  He 
thus,  in  fulfilling  his  promises,  gives  us  all  the  advantage 
of  his  omniscient  wisdom  and  infinite  love. 

We  are  now,  I  think,  prepared  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion, Why  have  not  the  prayers  of  the  church  of  God  re- 
ceived, and  why  do  they  not  now  receive,  a  more  abundant 
answer  ? 

God  has  promised  that  he  will  do  whatsoever  his  chil- 
dren ask,  if  they  abide  in  him,  and  his  words  abide  in 
them.  He  has  said  that  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord.  The  whole  church  daily, 
and  many  times  a  day,  prays,  Thy  kingdom  come,  thy 
will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  If  it  be 
demanded,  When  have  we  seen  the  answers  to  these 
prayers  ?   I  ask  in  how  far  is  the  church  of  Christ  fulfilling 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  255 

the  condition  on  which  the  prevalence  of  prayer  depends. 
Of  the  millions  called  by  the  name  of  Christ,  what  is  the 
proportion  of  those  who  abide  in  him  ?  The  most 
numerous  church  of  those  nominally  Christian,  prohibits 
the  reading  of  the  scriptures,  and  persecutes  if  possible, 
even  unto  death,  those  who  abide  in  Christ.  And  if  we 
turn  to  Protestant  churches,  where  shall  we  find  one  that 
is  suffering  persecution  for  the  faithfulness  of  its  testi- 
mony for  Jesus  ?  Where  is  the  church  that  can  be 
singled  out  among  men  as  crucified  with  Christ,  victorious 
over  the  world,  a  living  and  consistent  witness  for  God  ? 
It  matters  not  to  say  that  there  are  good  men  in  all  these 
churches  ;  of  course  there  are.  But  is  not  the  number 
of  those  in  whom  the  Word  of  God  abides,  who,  without 
conferring  with  flesh  and  blood,  follow  Christ  through 
evil  and  through  good  report,  lamentably  small  ?  How 
small  is  the  proportion  of  those  among  good  men,  whose 
piety  attains  to  the  standard  of  apostolic  times.  We 
pray  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  world,  but  who 
makes  sacrifices  for  the  souls  of  the  heathen  ?  We 
pray  for  a  revival  of  religion  at  home,  but  who  obeys 
Christ  and  devotes  any  portion  of  his  time  to  the  work 
of  warning  men  of  their  danger,  and  telling  them  of  the 
love  of  a  Saviour. 

If  we  expect  an  answer  to  our  prayers  for  any  particu- 
lar blessing,  the  word  of  Christ  that  has  respect  to  that 
particular  thing,  must  specially  abide  in  us.  If  we  pray 
that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  may  come,  we  must  obey  those 


256  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

words  of  Christ  which  concern  the  coming  of  his  kingdom. 
We  must  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God.  We  must  make 
the  progress  of  the  religion  of  Christ  the  real  object  for 
which  we  live.  We  must  labor  and  suffer  reproach,  and 
endure  cheerfully  the  scorn  of  men,  and  hold  our  pro- 
perty and  all  that  we  call  our  own,  subject  every  moment 
to  the  will  of  the  Master,  that  so  we  may  glorify  his 
name  in  the  conversion  of  souls.  This  was  the  type  of 
primitive  piety,  and  hence  it  was  that  the  prayers  of 
the  saints  then  prevailed  mightily  to  the  pulling  down 
of  strongholds.  Our  prayers  will  never  in  like  manner 
prevail,  until  we  follow  their  example.  The  Lord's  arm 
is  not  shortened  that  he  can  not  save,  nor  his  ear  heavy 
that  he  can  not  hear.  Our  God  is  a  living  God,  as  truly 
as  he  was  in  the  days  of  the  apostles.  The  Holy  Spirit 
is  as  powerful  to  bow  the  heart  of  man  in  penitence,  as  it 
was  ever  of  old.  But  we  must  abide  in  Christ,  if  we  ex- 
pect him  to  descend  as  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The 
real  power  of  the  church  of  Christ  resides  neither  in 
numbers,  nor  wealth,  nor  social  position,  nor  learning,  nor 
talent,  but  in  holiness.  When  the  standard  of  piety  in 
the  church  shall  reach  the  point  of-  self-sacrificing  love 
and  simple  earnest  obedience,  to  all  the  words  of  Christ, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  shall  the  greatness  of  the  king- 
dom be  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High. 

This  subject  may  also  teach  us  why  so  many  of  our 
prayers  on  our  own  behalf  remain  unanswered.  You 
have  been  a  professor  of  religion  for  many  years,  and 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  257 

looking  back  upon  your  Christian  life,  perceive  that  you 
have  made  but  small  progress  in  holiness.  It  may  be 
that  your  evidences  of  piety  grow  dimmer  as  you  grow 
older.  Beligion  has  become  with  you  a  matter  of  form, 
rather  than  an  earnest  and  ever  present  reality.  You 
have  an  obscure  hope  that  you  shall  be  saved,  but  you 
can  hardly  tell  on  what  it  rests,  for  you  do  not  know  in 
wThom  you  have  believed.  You  are  dissatisfied  with  your- 
self. At  times  you  are  alarmed  at  your  condition.  You 
tell  us  that  you  pray  daily  for  deliverance  and  for  the 
light  of  God's  countenance,  but  your  prayers  are  not  an- 
swered. You  sink  deeper  and  deeper  in  despondency, 
and  you  can  find  no  access  to  the  throne  of  the  heavenly 
grace. 

My  brother,  is  there  not  a  cause  ?  You  pray,  but 
does  the  word  of  Christ  abide  in  you  ?  Are  you  honestly 
and  earnestly  laboring  to  keep  all  of  Christ's  command- 
ments ?  Have  you  broken  off  from  everything  in  word, 
and  thought,  and  action,  that  you  know  is  displeasing  to 
him  ;  and  are  you  doing  his  will  at  all  hazards  and  at  all 
sacrifices  ?  "When  you  think  of  submitting  your  actual, 
practical,  every  day  life  to  Christ,  do  you  not  know  that 
before  you  can  do  this,  a  great  change  must  pass  over  you. 
The  world,  its  wealth,  its  pleasures,  its  ambitions,  and^ 
its  society  are  engrossing  those  affections  that  belong  only 
to  God,  and  encroaching  sadly  upon  those  hours  which 
should  be  given  to  prayer,  meditation,  doing  good,  and 
the  social  worship  of  the  saints.     What  self-denials  are 


258  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

you  enduring  for  Christ,  what  crosses  are  you  taking  up 
and  bearing  after  Jesus  ?  So  long  as  you  live  thus,  it  is 
all  in  vain  to  talk  about  praying  for  holiness  and  com- 
munion with  God.  The  words  of  Christ  must  abide  in 
you,  if  you  would  have  prevalence  in  prayer.  If  you  love 
Christ  you  must  keep  his  commandments,  though  in  so 
doing  you  break  loose  from  every  other  association,  and 
stand  perfectly  alone.  You  never  will  have  the  witness 
in  yourself  until  you  make  sacrifices  for  Christ.  Until 
you  do  your  first  works,  and  strengthen  the  things  that 
are  ready  to  die,  your  prayers  for  the  indwelling  of  the 
Spirit  will  be  as  the  idle  wind.  Yea,  though  you  cry 
aloud  and  shout,  God  will  not  hear  your  prayer.  Awake, 
thou  that  sleepest,  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall 
give  thee  light. 

These  same  remarks  apply  emphatically  to  our  prayers 
for  our  relatives  and  friends. 

You  are  a  parent.  You  are  anxious,  and  justly  so, 
about  the  eternal  welfare  of  your  children.  You  tell  us 
you  pray  for  them  daily,  and  you  ask  your  friends  to  pray 
for  them.  They  are  nevertheless  growing  up  to  be 
worldly  and  thoughtless,  and  are  evidently  wandering 
farther  and  farther  from  God.  Your  prayers  are  unan- 
swered, and  it  seems  as  if  the  promises  of  God,  in  your 
case,  had  utterly  failed. 

It  may  be,  Christian  parent,  that  God  is  making  trial 
of  your  faith.  But  before  you  accuse  God  of  unfaithful- 
ness, it  may  be  well  to  ask,  have  the  words  of  Christ 


PREVALENT     PRAYER.  259 

respecting  this  particular  thing,  abode  in  you.  Have  you 
brought  these  children  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord,  and  sedulously  guarded  them  from  every  in- 
fluence adverse  to  their  salvation  ?  You  have  prayed /or 
them,  have  you*  prayed  with  them  ?  Have  you  on  every 
suitable  occasion,  set  before  them  their  danger,  and 
pointed  them  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world  ?  Have  you  never,  for  the  sake  of 
worldly  advantage,  placed  them  in  circumstances  under 
which  every  serious  reflection  would  naturally  be  dissi- 
pated ?  When  ambition  for  social  position  leads  in  one 
direction,  and  the  will  of  God  in  another,  which  do  you 
really  desire  your  children  to  follow  ?  Parents  have 
sometimes  desired  me  to  converse  with  their  children  on 
the  subject  of  personal  religion,  while  I  knew  that  they 
were  exposing  them  to  all  those  influences,  which  must 
render  every  effort  for  their  salvation  utterly  hopeless. 
Brethren,  if  we  desire  that  our  prayers  should  be  an- 
swered, our  lives  and  our  prayers  must  be  in  harmony. 
It  is  mocking  God  to  ask  him  to  do  something  for  us,  and 
then  place  every  obstacle  in  our  power  in  the  way  of  his 
doing  it.  Unless  the  word  of  Christ  abide  in  us,  we  can 
never  ask  in  faith  that  God  will  hear  us. 

And  lastly,  this  subject  may  convey  an  important  les- 
son to  quite  a  different  class  of  persons.  We  sometimes 
meet  with  persons  to  whom  the  subject  of  personal  reli- 
gion has-  long  been  a  matter  of  serious  consideration. 
They  have  been  in  the  habit  of  daily  prayer  and  the  read- 


260  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

ing  of  the  Scriptures.  They  think  they  have  submitted 
themselves  to  God,  and  asked  for  pardon  through  the 
blood  of  Christ.  They  can  detect  some  change  in  their 
moral  affections.  The  world  has  lost  much  of  its  attrac- 
tiveness, and  the  truths  of  religion  awaken  in  them  some 
unwonted  emotion.  They,  however,  find  no  satisfactory 
evidence  of  their  conversion  to  God.  They  make  no  pro- 
gress in  their  Christian  course,  yet  they  dare  not  go  back, 
though  they  can  not  go  forward.  They  are  always  look- 
ing into  their  own  hearts  for  evidences  of  piety,  and  the 
longer  they  look  the  fewer  do  they  discover.  They  pray 
for  light,  for  repentance,  for  faith,  for  some  manifestation 
of  the  love  of  God,  but  no  answer  is  returned  to  their 
frequent  supplications. 

If  now  we  ask  such  a  person  what  are  you  doing  for 
Christ  ?  the  answer  is,  nothing.  If  we  ask  what  cross 
are  you  bearing  for  his  sake  ?  the  answer  is  the  same. 
Have  you  warned  any  sinner  of  his  danger,  or  spoken  to 
any  one  of  the  love  of  Jesus  ?  the  answer  is,  no.  Have 
you  so  submitted  yourself  to  Christ,  that,  in  sober  prac- 
tical earnest,  you  have  begun  to  do  his  will  as  far  as  you 
know  it  ?  You  will  probably  answer  that  you  are  wait- 
ing for  an  assurance  that  you  are  pardoned,  before  you 
begin  to  serve  God  ;  and  that,  if  he  will  only  save  you, 
then  you  will  serve  him  with  all  your  heart. 

I  would  say  to  such  an  inquirer,  that  he  is  assuming  a 
false  and  a  very  dangerous  position.  In  the  first  place, 
God  never  makes  compromises  with  sinners.     If  we  re- 


PREVALENT    PRAYER.  261 

pent  of  our  sins,  and  submit  ourselves  to  him,  it  must  be 
without  any  ifs  or  reservations.  We  must  acknowledge 
the  justice  of  God  in  our  condemnation,  and  plead  for 
pardon,  not  on  account  of  what  we  have  done,  or  intend 
to  do,  but  wholly  for  the  sake  of  him  that  has  loved  us, 
and  given  himself  for  us.  He  who  thus  comes  will  never 
be  cast  out.  He  who  comes  in  any  other  way,  will  never 
find  the  open  door  which  leads  to  everlasting  life. 

And  secondly,  you  know  full  well  the  life  which  a 
Christian  should  lead.  You  say  that  you  have  submitted 
yourself  to  God.  What  then  prevents  you  from  doing 
his  will  in  every  thing  in  which  he  has  revealed  it  to  you  ? 
Begin  then  at  once,  and  do  it.  Is  there  no  duty  pressing 
at  this  moment  on  your  conscience,  from  the  doing  of 
wrhich  you  have  timidly  shrunk  back  ?  Is  there  no  un- 
converted friend  for  whose  salvation  you  ought  at  once  to 
labor  ?  Is  there  no  company  before  which  it  is  your 
manifest  duty  to  confess  Christ  ?  While  you  continue 
in  the  neglect  of  plain  and  manifest  duty,  you  can  never 
expect  an  answer  to  your  prayers.  You  must  begin  at 
once  to  do  the  will  of  God,  in  so  far  as  he  reveals  it  to 
you,  and  then  shall  your  light  shine  forth  as  brightness, 
and  your  salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burneth.  If  the  words 
of  Christ  abide  in  you,  you  may  ask  what  you  will,  and 
it  shall  be  done  unto  you. 

And,  lastly,  we  may  learn  from  this  subject  that  an- 
swers to  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  souls,  is  the  sure 
test  of  the  piety  of  a  church.     In  all  our  churches,  prayer 


262  PREVALENT     PRAYER. 

is  made  without  ceasing  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit.  If  our  prayers  are  not  answered,  it  must  be  be- 
cause we  do  not  abide  in  Christ,  and  his  words  do  not 
abide  in  us.  When,  therefore,  additions  are  not  continu- 
ally made  to  a  church,  it  is  a  cause  for  alarm  and  self- 
examination.  There  must  be  wrong  somewhere,  and  that 
wrong  must  be  repented  of  before  a  blessing  can  be  ex- 
pected. We  should  search  and  try  our  ways,  and  turn 
again  to  the  Lord.  We  must  abide  in  Christ,  and  his 
words  must  abide  in  us,  and  then  we  may  ask  what  we 
will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  us.  The  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  must  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  exalted  above  the  hills,  before  all  nations  shall 
flow  unto  it. 


SERMON    VIII. 

RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE  MORAL  CONDITION  OF  OTHERS. 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  Cain,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  And  he  said,  I 
know  not :  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  And  he  said,  "What  hast  thou 
done  ?  the  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground. — 
Genesis,  iv.  9,  10. 

This  remarkable  conversation  was  held  between  the 
first  born  of  woman  and  the  eternal  God.  The  Lord  said 
unto  Cain,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  The  question 
manifestly  implied  that  he  was  in  some  sort  responsible 
for  his  brother's  well-being.  Cain  answers  his  Maker  in 
the  first  place  by  a  deliberate  lie.  I  know  not,  said  he, 
while  he  knew  too  well  the  field  in  which  his  brother  lay 
weltering  in  his  blood.  Cain  moreover  observed  the  im- 
plication involved  in  the  question,  and  he  took  occasion 
instantly  to  repudiate  it.  Am  I,  said  he,  my  brother's 
keeper  ?  God  condescends  neither  to  argue  with  the 
sinner  nor  to  take  notice  of  the  insolence  of  his  reply. 
He  reveals  at  once  his  knowledge  of  the  murderer's  guilt, 
and  pronounces  the  sentence  which  it  deserved.  What 
hast  thou  done  ?  The  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth 
to  me  from  the  ground.  And  now  thou  art  cursed  from 
the  earth,  which  hath  opened  her  mouth  to  receive  thy 
brother's  blood  from  the  ground. 


264  RESPONSIBILITY     FOE   THE 

My  brethren,  I  fear  that  our  fallen  nature  has  improved 
but  little  since  these  words  were  first  uttered.  Were 
God  to-day  to  put  the  same  question  to  us,  it  would  not 
be  remarkable  if  he  received,  in  effect,  precisely  the  same 
answer.  Were  he  to  inquire  of  each  one  of  us,  Where 
is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  where  are  the  persons  with  whom 
you  have  been  acquainted,  who  must  have  been  rendered 
either  better  or  worse  by  their  intercourse  with  you  ?  I 
fear  that,  with  Cain,  you  would  reply,  I  know  not ;  am  I 
my  brother's  keeper  ?  I  do  not  hold  myself  responsible 
for  either  the  well-being  or  the  well-doing  of  my  neigh- 
bor. I  am  responsible  for  no  one  but  myself,  and  my 
neighbor  has  precisely  the  same  responsibility.  Every 
one  must  take  care  of  himself.  I  never  oblige  men  to 
sin  ;  if  they  sin,  they  do  it  of  their  own  free  will,  and 
for  what  they  do,  or  leave  undone,  I  am  not  accountable. 
I  imagine  that,  as  in  the  former  case,  our  Creator  would 
neither  enter  into  an  argument  nor  take  note  of  our  in- 
solence, but,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  would  say  to  each 
one  of  us,  What  hast  thou  done  ?  The  voice  of  thy 
brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground.  Your 
hands  are  stained  with  the  blood  of  souls,  and  you  must 
answer  for  it  in  the  day  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts 
are  made  manifest. 

There  seems  then  to  be  a  question  at  issue  between 
man  and  his  Maker.  God  holds  us  responsible  for  the 
effect  of  our  conduct  upon  others.  We  declare  that  we 
are  not  responsible.     What  God  affirms  we  deny.     What 


MORAL    CONDITION    OF    OTHERS.  265 

is  the  truth  in  the  case  ?  Is  God  right  and  are  we 
wrong,  or  is  God  wrong  and  are  we  right  ?  Is  the  Judge 
of  the  whole  earth  a  God  of  equity,  or  is  mortal  man 
more  just  than  his  Maker  ?  This  is  the  question  which 
we  are  called  upon  for  a  few  minutes  to  consider. 

I.  What  is  the  truth  in  this  matter,  if  we  examine  our 
relations  to  each  other  as  men  ? 

You  say  that  you  are  not  responsible  for  the  result  of 
your  conversation  and  example  upon  others  ;  that  every 
one  must  take  care  of  himself,  and  bear  his  own  burden  ; 
and  that  all  for  which  we  are  accountable  is  the  result  of 
our  own  actions  upon  ourselves.  But  I  ask,  do  you  not 
know  that  others  are  affected  by  your  example,  and  that 
their  moral  character  will  be  modified  by  what  they  hear 
you  say  and  see  you  do  ?  This  you  do  not  deny,  but 
still  you  affirm  that  no  one  can  be  either  good  or  bad  for 
another;  that  sin  is  the  act  of  the  individual  sinner; 
that  every  moral  agent  is  endowed  with  perfect  freedom 
of  will ;  that  no  one  need  be  influenced  by  you  unless  he 
chooses  ;  and  therefore  you  can  not  be  held  responsible 
for  the  sin  of  your  neighbor.  Hence  you  hold,  that 
though  you  acted  with  perfect  freedom,  and  knew  what 
would  be  the  result  of  your  actions,  nay,  though  you  de- 
liberately intended  to  produce  this  result,  you  are  in  no 
manner  morally  accountable  for  the  consequences. 

Let  us  attempt  to  illustrate  this  case  by  one  some- 
what analogous.  You  take  a  pan  of  coals  and  throw 
them  into  your  neighbor's  house.     The  house  takes  fire, 

12 


266  RESPONSIBILITY     FOR     THE 

and  is  consumed.  It  sets  on  fire  the  houses  adjoining, 
these  to  others,  until  the  conflagration  becomes  general, 
and  a  whole  neighborhood  is  reduced  to  ashes.  You  are 
arraigned  for  the  crime  of  arson.  You  admit  the  fact 
that  you  placed  the  burning  coals  in  his  house,  but  you 
plead  that  you  did  not  burn  the  house,  that  was  wholly 
out  of  your  power.  The  house  burnt  itself,  and  it  could 
not  be  burned  in  any  other  manner.  You  knew,  to  be 
sure,  that  if  you  threw  burning  coals  into  it,  it  would  be 
consumed  ;  but  you  did  not  burn  it.  And  still  more,  it 
burned  because  it  was  of  wood  ;  if  it  had  been  con- 
structed of  stone  and  iron  it  would  never  have  taken  fire. 
You  do  not  deny  that  you  knew  it  to  be  made  of  wood, 
and  that  it  would  burn.  We  ask  if  you  did  not  know 
that  if  this  house  burned  it  would  set  fire  to  all  the  houses 
adjoining  ?  This  you  do  not  deny,  but  you  reply  that 
people  should  not  set  their  houses  so  near  together,  and 
that  every  one  must  take  care  of  his  own  house.  You 
say,  moreover,  that  the  owner  of  the  house  should  have 
taken  better  care  of  his  property,  and  not  have  allowed 
you  to  do  him  an  injury  ;  and  that  he  should  have  put  it 
out  as  soon  as  he  discovered  the  danger.  The  fault  is 
therefore  his,  because  he  took  so  little  care  of  his  prop- 
erty. We  tell  you  that  he  did  not  bar  you  out  because 
he  had  confidence  in  you.  You  reply  that  he  had  no 
right  to  be  unsuspecting,  for  you  never  told  ,him  that 
you  would  not  set  fire  to  his  house.  What,  I  pray  you, 
would  all  this  twaddle  amount  to  ?     There  are  the  facts 


MORAL     CONDITION     OF     OTHERS.  267 

Before  us  is  this  wide-spread  desolation.  You  are  the 
knowing  and  willful  cause  of  it.  It  is  all  the  result  of 
your  own  deliberate  act.  You  intended  to  produce  the 
first  result ;  you  knew  that  the  others  were  liable  to  en- 
sue, and  knowing  and  intending  all  this,  you  did  the  deed 
and  are  responsible  for  it,  and  for  all  the  consequences. 

Let  us  apply  this  in  the  first  instance  to  your  own  ex- 
perience. Turn  your  eyes  inward,  and  observe  with  care 
what  you  are  at  this  moment.  Examine  deliberately 
your  own  character,  and  weigh  with  accuracy  your  own 
intellectual  and  moral  condition.  G-o  back  to  boyhood, 
and  recall  the  various  changes  that  have  been  wrought 
in  you  during  your  passage  through  life.  You  can  well 
remember  those  critical  periods  when  your  biases,  your 
objects,  your  aspirations,  the  governing  principles  of  your 
character,  underwent  the  most  important  modifications. 
You  will  recollect,  if  you  care  to  recollect  it,  that  those 
changes  in  character,  by  which  so  much  of  your  subse- 
quent destiny  was  determined,  were  to  a  great  extent,  if 
not  wholly,  the  result  of  the  associations  which  were  then 
exerting  a  predominant  influence  over  you.  Some  of 
the  men  whom  you  have  known  took  care  to  summon 
you  to  high  resolve,  to  breathe  into  your  soul  noble  as- 
pirations, and  instill  into  your  forming  mind  the  princi- 
ples of  truth  and  honor,  disinterestedness  and  humanity. 
Others,  by  example  and  precept,  filled  your  imagination 
with  pictures  of  wickedness  ;  they  took  pleasure  in  liber- 
ating you  from  moral  restraint ;  they  enticed  you  into 


268  RESPONSIBILITY     FOR     THE 

sin  ;  they  forged  those  chains  of  evil  habit  by  which  you 
are  to  the  present  moment  held  in  bondage.  How  do 
you  look  upon  these  two  different  classes  of  your  asso- 
ciates ?  Do  you  not  love  and  honor  and  venerate  the 
one,  and  hate  and  despise  the  other  ?  You  look  upon 
the  former  as  your  dearest  friends,  and  upon  the  latter 
as  your  worst  enemies.  The  thought  of  the  one  fills 
you  with  gratitude  that  softens  your  heart  and  makes 
you  better,  the  thought  of  the  other  arouses  within  you 
a  spirit  of  hate  and  revenge,  which  must  be  subdued 
into  forgiveness,  or  it  will  make  you  worse.  But  why  this 
difference,  if  the  good  have  fulfilled  and  the  wicked  have 
violated  no  responsibility  ?  If  their  precept  and  exam- 
ple have  had  nothing  to  do  with  your  present  condition, 
why  should  you  lay  your  virtue  or  vice,  your  success  or 
failure,  at  their  door  ?  Your  own  conduct,  your  own  moral 
instincts,  your  own  deliberate  judgment,  all  give  the  lie 
to  your  theory  ;  and  you  can  not  but  see  that  if  others 
are  responsible  for  your  present  moral  condition,  you  are 
equally  responsible  for  their's. 

But  we  will  proceed  to  other  illustrations.  We  will 
take  the  case  of  a  parent.  A  family  is  growing  up  around 
him,  and  looking  up  to  him  as  the  model  upon  which 
their  intellectual  and  moral  character  is  to  be  formed. 
It  is  right  that  they  should  do  so,  for  where  else  should 
they  look  for  precept  and  example.  On  various  occasions, 
to  escape  some  trifling  inconvenience,  or  to  gain  some 
transient  advantage,  he  utters,  or  he  tells  them  or  his 


MORAL     CONDITION    OF     OTHERS.  269 

servants  to  utter,  what  he  knows  to  be  false  ;  he  makes  a 
promise  which  he  does  not  intend  to  fulfill,  he  speaks  a 
threat  which  he  does  not  mean  to  execute,  or  he  terrifies 
a  child  by  setting  forth  some  danger  which  he  knows  to 
be  fabulous.  He  smiles  approbation  upon  some  transac- 
tion which  displays  great  skill  but  little  honesty.  He 
has  never  said  so,  but  his  children  have  imbibed  the 
decided  impression  that  he  estimates  men  by  their  suc- 
cess, and  not  by  their  integrity.  He  talks  to  them  very 
gravely  about  the  excellence  of  virtue  and  goodness,  but 
the  deference  which  he  pays  exclusively  to  wealth  and 
position,  show  very  clearly  that  he  is  not  in  earnest.  His 
children  imbibe  his  sentiments  and  improve  upon  his  ex- 
ample. He  finds  as  they  grow  up  to  be  men  and  women, 
that  they  have  become  adepts  in  all  the  arts  of  duplicity 
and  cunning,  and  that  they  are  putting  in  practice  to- 
wards him,  the  very  lessons  in  which  he  was  their  first 
instructor.  He  is  ashamed  to  observe  that  they  care  far 
less  than  he  considers  respectable,  for  the  means  by  which 
wealth  is  acquired,  so  long  as  the  end  is  attained  ;  and 
that  their  associates  are  men  whom  he  would  hardly 
notice  on  'Change.  His  sons  are  the  companions  of 
sharpers  and  profligates,  and  his  daughters  the  wives  of 
adventurers  and  debauchees.  When,  and  where,  and  by 
whom  were  the  germs  of  all  this  wickedness  and  misery 
nourished  ?  Whom  did  God  appoint  to  be  the  keeper 
of  these  children  ?  Who  was  it  that  set  fire  to  that 
house  ? 


270  KESPONSIBILITT     FOR     THE 

Take  another  illustration.  Here  is  a  man  engaged  in 
extensive  business,  surrounded  by  junior  partners,  clerks, 
and  the  various  classes  of  young  men  employed  in  a  large 
mercantile  establishment.  They  look  upon  him  as  their 
acknowledged  head,  whose  opinion  will  determine  their 
position  when  they  enter  upon  life.  They  hear  him  ex- 
press opinions  to  a  customer  quite  at  variance  with  those 
which  in  confidence  he  expresses  to  them.  They,  not 
unfrequently,  record  transactions  which  are  sadly  in  viola- 
tion of  the  precept,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self. A  neighbor  is  pressed  for  money,  and  a  profit  is 
realized  out  of  his  necessities,  which  must  not  be  men- 
tioned out  of  doors.  All  this  and  much  like  it  is  of  course 
confidential,  and  is  never  spoken  of  elsewhere.  Here  it 
seems  to  terminate  and  be  forever  forgotten.  But  does  it 
terminate  here  ?  Alas,  the  poison  is  already  at  work, 
corrupting  the  principles  of  all  those  young  men.  The 
lesson  has  been  learned  by  all  to  whom  it  has  been 
taught,  and  the  practice  commencing  where  the  teacher 
left  it,  soon  grows  into  habitual  dishonesty.  You  may 
trace  these  men  into  subsequent  life.  One  becomes 
wealthy  by  practices  which  brand  him  as  a  sharper. 
Another  loses  all  character  by  a  shamefully  dishonest 
failure.  One  flees  his  country  as  a  defaulter,  and  another 
is  convicted  of  forgery.  It  is  fortunate  for  the  chief  if 
these  lessons  are  not  practised  on  himself,  and  his  account 
of  stock,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  does  not  discover  dis- 
crepancies hard  to  be  accounted  for.     Was  not  this  man 


MORAL   .CONDITION     OF     OTHERS.  271 

the  keeper  of  the  souls  of  the  young  men  in  his  employ? 
When,  and  where,  and  by  whom  were  these  seeds 
planted  ?  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  Who  set  fire  to 
this  house  ? 

I  might  take  other  illustrations.  I  might  ask,  who 
are  the  men,  at  this  moment,  responsible  for  the  well 
being  and  happiness  of  this  nation  ?  Who  chooses  the 
legislators  whose  laws  we  must  obey  or  suffer  the  ex- 
tremest  consequences  ?  Who  elect  the  magistrates  that, 
in  our  cities,  and  states,  and  the  United  States,  carry 
those  laws  into  execution  ?  Who  select  the  judges  by 
whom  these  laws  are  interpreted,  and  by  whom  they  may 
be  made  the  instruments  of  the  direst  oppression  ?  Who, 
in  fact,  direct  the  intercourse  of  this  country  with  foreign 
nations,  and  render  the  United  States  the  richest  bless- 
ing or  the  direst  curse  to  humanity  ?  You,  my  hearers, 
and  such  as  you,  do  all  this.  The  interests  of  "mankind 
are  placed  in  your  keeping.  God  holds  you  responsible 
for  the  well-being  of  your  fellow-citizens  and  of  your 
brethren  of  the  human  race.  Every  act  of  oppression, 
of  public  wrong  doing,  of  wickedness  in  high  places,  can 
be  traced  home  directly  or  indirectly  to  you  and  such  as 
you  ;  and  it  will  be  traced  home  and  laid  at  your  door, 
and  your  children  and  your  children's  children  will  reap 
the  reward  or  pay  the  penalty  to  the  remotest  genera- 
tions. 

But  why  should  I  particularize.  Look  at  the  history 
of  every  day  of  our  lives.     We  are  always  talking  and 


272  RESPONSIBILITY     FOR     THE 

men  are  always  hearing  us.  We  are  always  acting  and 
men  are  always  seeing  us.  Every  word  that  we  speak 
and  every  act  that  we  perform,  is  contributing  something 
to  form  the  character  of  the  men  around  us.  They  are 
made  either  better  or  worse  by  their  intercourse  with  us, 
and  we  can  not  prevent  it.  The  effect  which  we  produce 
on  them  they  will  reproduce  in  their  intercourse  with 
others.  Thus  the  fountain  of  moral  influence  which  we 
open  will  flow  on,  growing  deeper  and  broader  even  unto 
the  end.  In  the  broad  daylight  of  the  judgment  morn- 
ing, all  this  complicated  network  will  be  completely  dis- 
entangled, and  the  part  which  each  man  has  borne  in 
forming  the  character  of  his  neighbor  will  be  traced  back 
distinctly  to  its  author.  There  will  then  be  no  need 
there  of  asking,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  for  he  will 
stand  face  to  face  before  us,  and  every  lineament  which 
we  have  traced  upon  his  soul  will  be  distinctly  visible  to 
the  universe.  Well  will  it  be  for  us,  if  at  that  day,  the 
blood  of  our  brother  does  not  cry  out  to  God  against  us. 
Here  let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  to  observe  the  light 
which  is  thus  thrown  upon  the  sinfulness  of  sin.  It 
would  seem,  from  all  that  we  know,  that  moral  evil  is  in 
its  nature  infectious,  and  by  necessity  reproduces  itself 
forever.  That  a  single  sin  must  mar  our  own  moral 
nature,  and  create  a  tendency  to  sin.  which,  unless  cor- 
rected, must  forever  gain  strength,  can  be  easily  shown. 
That  it  must  from  our  social  nature  produce  the  same 
effect  upon  others,  is  also  evident.     Thus  it  is  that  the 


MORAL     CONDITION    OF     OTHERS.  273 

sin  of  our  first  parents  is  the  cause  of  all  the  sin  and 
misery  that  have  cursed  our  race  to  the  present  day. 
Every  one  of  our  own  sins  partakes  of  the  same  character. 
What  must  then  be  the  desert  of  the  sins  of  a  lifetime  ? 
What  mortal  man  can  measure,  much  less  make  repara- 
tion for,  the  mischief  which  he  has  wrought  in  the  uni- 
verse of  God  ?  Surely  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  can  no 
flesh  be  justified.  Well  for  us  is  it,  that  our  help  is  laid 
upon  One  mighty  to  save.  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
cleanseth  from  all  sin:  for  he  hath  magnified  the  law  and 
made  it  honorable.  This  is  the  only  and  all-sufficient 
hope  for  a  sinner. 

II.  I  have  thus  far  treated  of  this  subject  in  its  rela- 
tions to  men  who  claim  no  part  in  the  blessings  of  salva- 
tion. Its  bearing  is  yet  more*  impressive  on  those  who 
profess  to  be  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  look 
at  it  briefly  in  this  relation. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  children  of  God  are  continued 
on  earth,  for  the  express  purpose  of  being  keepers  of  their 
fellow-men.  They  were  such  under  the  old  dispensation. 
Ye  are  my  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  He  ex- 
pected his  chosen  people  to  testify  for  him,  and  exemplify 
the  superiority  of  the  true  religion  over  every  form  of 
idolatry.  He  looked  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  obligations 
which  they  had  assumed,  when  they  separated  them- 
selves from  the  heathen  and  became  his  people.  Surely, 
said  He,  they  are  my  people  ;  children  that  will  not  lie, 
therefore  he  was  their  Saviour.   When  they  did  not  fulfill 


274  RESPONSIBILITY    FOR     THE 

their  obligations,  but  suffered  the  lamp  of  piety  to  go  out 
in  their  temple,  so  that  they  shed  no  light  upon  the  sur- 
rounding darkness,  but  through  them  his  name  was  blas- 
phemed among  the  Gentiles,  he  swept  them  away  from 
the  land  which  they  had  polluted,  and  blotted  them  out 
of  the  catalogue  of  nations. 

The  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  are  yet  more  ex- 
plicit, frequently  repeated,  and  set  before  us  with  every 
variety  of  illustration.  Our  Lord  represents  the  world  as 
going  to  decay,  and  his  disciples  as  the  salt  by  which  it 
is  preserved  from  decomposition.  The  world  is  a  mass 
of  unleavened  meal,  Christ's  disciples  are  the  leaven  by 
which  it  is  excited  to  universal  fermentation.  The  world 
is  a  dark  room,  they  are  the  lamp  by  which  it  is  to  be  light- 
ened. The  world  is  shrouded  in  starless  midnight,  they 
are  the  city  set  upon  a  hill,  by  which  the  far  off  traveler 
discovers  his  direction  and  reaches  his  home  in  safety. 

The  meaning  of  all  this  can  not  be  misunderstood. 
We  are  here  taught  that  our  title  to  discipleship  must 
rest  on  something  more  than  mere  quiescence,  having  our 
religion  to  ourselves^  and  doing  no  harm  with  it.  If  this 
be  all  our  piety,  we  are  salt  that  has  lost  its  saltness, 
good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out  and  trodden  undfr 
foot.  We  are  lamps  hidden  under  a  bushel,  which  are 
just  as  good  as  no  lamps  at  all.  Christ  teaches  us  that 
his  disciples  must  be  something  better  than  a  mere  nega- 
tion, they  must  exert  a  real  and  positive  agency  on  the 
world  around  them.     The  salt  must  diffuse  its  salBhess. 


MORAL     CONDITION     OF     OTHERS.  275 

The  city  on  the  hill  must  scatter  light  on  those  near  and 
those  afar  off.  It  is  by  thus  doing  that  we  give  evidence 
of  our  discipleship,  and,  if  we  do  it  not,  he  will  say  unto 
us  I  never  knew  you.  Christ  imposes  upon  all  his  disci- 
ples the  duty  of  being  in  this  sense  the  keepers  of  their 
fellow-men. 

The  reasonableness  of  all  this  is  self-evident.  In  order 
that  the  world  should  be  converted  unto  Christ,  it  is  ne- 
cessary that  every  man  should  be  convinced  of  the  truth, 
of  bis  doctrines,  and  the  authority  of  his  mission.  An 
abundant  proof  of  this  may  be  logically  made  out,  on 
the  principles  of  historical  evidence.  But  this  evidence 
can  reach  not  one  in  ten  thousand  of  the  human  family, 
and  among  those  whom  it  reaches,  prejudice  will  cavil 
where  the  understanding  can  make  no  reply.  Christ  in- 
tended the  conversion  of  sinners  to  be  the  standing 
miracle  by  which  it  should  be  proved  that  he  is  the 
messenger  from  the  Father.  When  men,  by  belief  in 
him,  are  transformed  from  sin  to  holiness  ;  when  the 
lascivious  become  chaste,  the  passionate  meek,  the  selfish 
self-denying,  the  covetous  liberal,  the  proud  humble  ; 
when  men  are  seen  trampling  upon  the  idols  to  which 
they  lately  bowed  down  in  subjection,  here  is  a  moral 
victory  which  nothing  earthly  can  account*  for.  -  The 
power  which  conquers  the  world  must  be  derived  from 
something  the  world  knows  not  of.  Men  may  reply  to 
an  argument,  but  there  is  no  reply  to  a  life  changed  from 
sin  to  holiness.     It  is  a  fact  which  every  man  can  ob- 


276  RESPONSIBILITY     FOR     THE 

serve,  which  every  man  can  comprehend,  and  which  can 
be  accounted  for  by  nothing  but  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
from  on  high  ;  and  that  Spirit  acting  only  through  the 
words  of  Christ,  teaches  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  sent 
of  God. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  Spirit  is  sent  to  convert  men  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  the  children  of  God.  They  are 
the  medium  through  whom  the  Spirit  is  imparted  to 
men.  God  converts  the  world  through  the  instrumental- 
ity of  his  own  children.  But  their  prayers  are  in  vain, 
and  their  efforts  are  a  dumb  show,  unless  they  proceed 
from  a  holy  and  loving  soul.  God  has  thus  made  the 
progress  of  his  cause  on  earth,  the  salvation  of  a  world 
perishing  in  sin,  to  depend  on  the  holy  and  consistent 
lives  of  the  disciples  of  his  Son.  For  this  reason  again  he 
declares  that  each  one  of  us  is  the  keeper  of  his  brother. 

Not  only  are  we  taught  our  responsibility  in  this  mat- 
ter ;  the  most  solemn  judgments  are  denounced  against 
those  who  neglect  to  fulfill  it,  or  who,  by  their  example 
or  precept,  lead  others  into  sin.  This  is  what  our  Lord 
means  by  offending,  or  being  a  cause  of  offence  or  stum- 
bling to  others.  He  declares  that  it  were  better  for  us 
that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  our  necks,  and  we  be 
cast  into  th,e  sea,  than  to  be  guilty  of  this  sin.  Nay,  he 
urges  us  to  cut  off  a  right  hand,  or  pluck  out  a  right  eye, 
rather  than  do  it.  In  other  words,  he  teaches  us  that 
we  must  suffer  any  privation,  lose  any  advantage,  or  de- 
prive ourselves  of  any  pleasure,  rather  than  by  our  con- 


MORAL    CONDITION    OF    OTHERS.  277 

duct  or  example  be  the  means  of  ruining  the  souls  of 
our  fellow-men.  In  a  word,  we  are  forbidden  to  do  or  to 
leave  undone  any  thing  by  which  the  salvation  of  our 
brethren  may  be  endangered.  The  Apostle  Paul  carried 
out  this  precept  to  the  letter.  He  knew  as  well  as  we, 
that  meat  commendeth  us  not  to  God,  for  neither  if  we 
eat  are  we  the  better,  nor  if  we  eat  not  are  we  the  worse, 
yet,  said  he,  if  meat  maketh  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will 
eat  no  meat  while  the  world  standeth.  It  is  good  neither 
to  eat  flesh  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  any  thing  whereby  thy 
brother  stumbleth,  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak.  It  is 
in  this  spirit  that  the  Master  holds  us  to  be  the  keepers 
of  our  brethren. 

And  now  suppose  a  professed  disciple  of  Christ  to  com- 
mit any  of  the  sins  of  which  I  have  before  spoken.  He 
does  more  than  lead  men  into  sin  ;  he  stupefies  their  con- 
sciences, and  teaches  them  to  do  evil  without  remon- 
strance from  within.  Looking  upon  him  as  a  practical 
exponent  of  the  law  of  God,  they  flatter  themselves  that 
what  he  does  is  not  forbidden,  and  they  may  therefore  do 
it  with  impUnity.  Suppose  a  Christian  parent  to  be 
thoughtless  about  his  word  ;  in  fits  of  passion  to  give 
way  to  violence  of  manner  and  rashness  in  utterance  ; 
suppose  him  to  labor  more  for  wealth  and  position  than 
for  Christ  and  his  salvation  ;  suppose  him  to  allow  suc- 
cessful wickedness  to  pass  unrebuked,  and  unpopular  piety 
be  made  a  matter  of  ridicule,  his  children  will  of  course 
follow  his  example.     But  this  is  not  all.     They  will  natu- 


278  RESPONSIBILITY     FOR     THE 

rally  conclude,  either  that  he  is  no  Christian,  or  that  all 
this  is  consistent  with  Christianity  ;  that  there  is  in  it 
nothing  morally  distinctive,  and  that  in  fact  it  is  all  a 
pretense.  Another  disciple  is  a  merchant,  attentive  upon 
all  the  ordinances  of  religion,  sound  in  the  faith,  and 
ready  on  all  proper  occasions  to  exhort  men  to  repent- 
ance. But  follow  him  to  his  place  of  business,  and  you 
may  find  him  grasping  with  an  overreaching  eagerness 
for  gain,  forgetful  of  truth  in  his  representations,  selfish 
and  unfeeling  toward  those  in  his  power,  and  capable  of 
littleness,  nay  of  meanness,  in  financial  negotiations. 
That  the  young  men  around  him  will  imitate  his  exam- 
ple, there  can  be  hardly  a  doubt.  But  more  than  this  : 
they  will  learn  to  associate  the  most  solemn  truths  of 
religion,  and  the  most  devout  profession  of  piety,  with 
selfishness  and  trickery.  The  gospel  itself  becomes  to 
them  an  offence,  and  to  awaken  them  to  repentance  be- 
comes almost  hopeless.  Who  has  hardened  their  hearts 
and  stupefied  their  consciences  ?  Was  not  this  man  the 
keeper  of  the  souls  of  his  brethren,  and  how  has  he  kept 
them  ? 

Suppose  a  disciple  of  Christ  does  none  of  this,  but  con- 
tents himself  with  doing  nothing  for  his  Master.  His 
most  intimate  friends  declare  with  truth,  that  he  never 
warned  them  of  their  danger  or  pointed  them  to  Christ; 
while  they  know  that  he -believes  them  to  be,  at  every 
moment,  in  danger  of  eternal  death.  He  converses  with 
the  freedom  of  a  friend  on  every  other  subject,  but  never 


MORAL     CONDITION     OF     OTHERS.  279 

utters  a  word  about  personal  religion.  They  would  gladly 
receive  his  advice  and  listen  to  his  warnings,  but  on  this 
subject  his  lips  are  closed  in  unbroken  silence.  They 
ask,  Can  he  believe  the  religion  which  he  professes  ?  If 
we  believed  him  to  be  in  so  imminent  a  danger,  we 
could  not  let  him  go  unwarned.  Thus  his  very  silence 
hardens  the  hearts  of  men.  They  arrive  at  the  conclusion 
that  there  is,  after  all,  no  great  danger  to  be  apprehended 
from  a  life  of  irreligion,  and  they  go  on  in  impenitence  to 
eternal  death. 

Again,  the  Word  of  God  teaches  us  that  if  any  man 
be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new  creature  ;  old  things  have  passed 
away,  behold  all  things  have  become  new.  Hence,  when 
a  man  professes  to  believe  in  Christ,  nothing  is  so  marked 
as  the  entire  change  of  his  moral  affections.  The  pleas- 
ures, the  amusements,  the  ambitions,  the  gains  of  the 
world  have  lost  their  charms,  and  he  turns  from  them 
with  aversion,  for  they  were  ruining  his  soul.  His  affec- 
tions are  placed  on  things  above,  and  thence  he  derives 
a  happiness  of  which  he  had  before  no  conception.  Hap- 
piness was  before  only  a  shadow,  now  he  has  found  the 
substance.  His  soul,  wearied  in  the  chase  of  that  which 
satisfieth  not,  has  now  found  rest  in  the  bosom  of  Grod. 

But  what  if  this  disciple  at  any  time  forgets  all  this, 
and  mingles  as  before  with  the  world  ?  He  enters  into 
its  amusements,  and  drinks  as  deeply  as  ever  of  the  cup 
of  its  pleasures.  The  meeting  for  prayer  is  deserted  for 
the  ball-room,  the  theater,  the  opera,  and  the  card-table. 


280  RESPONSIBILITY     FOR    THE 

In  fact,  in  all  but  his  profession,  so  far  as  man  can  see, 
he  is  just  the  same  person  that  he  was  before.  Men  put 
these  two  things  together.  They  say,  Here  is  a  man  who 
has  tried  both  sources  of  happiness,  and  we  have  tried  but 
one.  After  a  deliberate  trial  of  both,  he  comes  back  to 
that  which  we  have  always  chosen.  From  an  adequate 
knowledge  of  both,  he  determines  that  the  world  is  the 
better  portion.  After  all  this  talk  about  religion,  he  evi- 
dently believes  that  there  is  nothing  in  it.  Is  not  this  a 
natural  and  reasonable  conclusion  ?  And  who  is  respon- 
sible for  the  production  of  this  result  ?  Who  furnished 
the  facts  from  which  this  conclusion  is  drawn  ?  When 
God  shall  ask,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  will  not  thy 
brother's  blood  cry  out  against  thee  from  the  ground  ? 

And  now,  if  all  this  be  so,  Christian  brethren,  what 
remains  to  be  done  ?  Does  it  not  become  us  to  form  a 
more  definite  conception  of  the  character,  and  estimate 
more  truly  the  responsibility,  of  a  disciple  of  Christ  ? 
Shall  we  not  humbly  repent  of  the  carelessness  of  our 
lives  and  the  worldliness  of  our  motives  ?  Shall  we  not 
once  more  lay  upon  our  shoulders  the  forsaken  cross,  deny 
ourselves,  and  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Christ  ?  Shall 
we  not,  as  Christ  did,  make  the  salvation  of  souls  the  ob- 
ject in  reality  for  which  we  live  ?  There  is  much  land 
to  be  possessed  and  we  are  well  able  to  possess  it.  Let 
us  thrust  in  the  sickle  and  reap,  for  the  harvest  of  the 
earth  is  ripe. 

The  encouragements  to  Christian  effort  were  never  so 


MORAL    CONDITION     OF    OTHERS.  281 

great  since  the  apostolic  age,  as  they  are  at  this  moment. 
The  field  is  the  world,  and  it  is  all  white  to  the  harvest. 
At  home  we  may  labor  under  the  protection  of  law,  and 
abroad  the  heathen  are  waiting  for  the  Gospel.  Of  late, 
God  has  taught  us  what  he  is  willing  to  do,  when  we  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  During  the  past  winter, 
when  Christians  left  the  pursuit  of  gain  to  meet  at  morn- 
ing, at  noon,  and  at  evening,  to  pray  for  the  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit,  and  followed  up  their  prayers  by  calling  on  all 
whom  they  met  to  repent  and  believe,  their  prayers  were 
abundantly  answered,  and  men  by  tens  of  thousands  were 
converted  unto  God.  It  was,  moreover,  mainly  the  work 
of  private  Christians.  It  was  a  manifest  token  of  divine 
approbation  bestowed  upon  the  labor  of  individual  disci- 
ples. I  believe,  Christian  brethren,  that  in  all  this  we 
have  as  yet  seen  only  the  hiding  of  the  power  of  our  God. 
He  has  shown  us  this  much  that  we  may  hope  to  see  yet 
greater  things  than  these.  Our  churches  are  now  pre- 
pared to  labor  for  the  conversion  of  this  country,  as  we 
have  never  been  before.  Encouraged  and  refreshed  by 
what  we  have  seen,  let  us  enter  with  tenfold  earnestness 
upon  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  give  him  no  rest  until 
the  sun  of  the  day  of  Pentecost  again  rises  upon  the 
earth.  Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing,  for  in  due 
season  shall  we  reap  if  we  faint  not. 

THE     END. 


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Noio  Complete. 

COMMENTARIES    ON    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT. 

By  Prof  Hermann  Olshausen,  D.  D.,  late  Professor  of  Theology 
in  the  University  of  Erlangen. 

First  American  Edition,  revised  after  the  Fourth  German  Edition. 

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COMMENTARIES    BY  REV.    AUGUSTUS 
NEANDER,    D.I). 

Translated  from  the  German,  by  Mrs.  H.  C.  Conant. 

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the  best  of  his  works  of  this  character  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  The  excellence  of 
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ing temper,  which  places  him  in  so  delightful  harmony  of  spirit  with  the  beloved  apostle  " 
■—Francis  Wayland,  D.  D. 


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CONTENTS. 

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VI.  The  Perils  of  Riches. 
VII.   Prevalent  Prayer. 
VIII.  Responsibility  for   the   Moral    Con- 
dition of  Others. 


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sion of  the  World. 
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V.  A  Consistent  Piety,  the  Demand  of  the 
Age. 


A  NEW  BOOK  BY  SPURGEON. 

SPURGE  ON'  S     OEMS. 

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r* 


